


Bar Down

by SgtPepper007



Series: EXO Oneshots [17]
Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Age Swap, Alternate Universe - Hockey, Alternate Universe - Sports, Angst, Athletes, Competition, F/M, Falling In Love, Fluff, Friendship, Hockey, Ice Skating, M/M, Olympics, Romance, Tournaments, figure skating
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-31
Updated: 2020-03-31
Packaged: 2021-02-28 18:34:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 27,304
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23411725
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SgtPepper007/pseuds/SgtPepper007
Summary: Chanyeol is ecstatic about the upcoming ice hockey tournament by his teammates side. And his daily activities at the stadium take an interesting turn when a newly scouted figure skater makes an appearance (and takes his heart along with him).
Relationships: Kim Junmyeon | Suho & Park Chanyeol, Kim Junmyeon | Suho/Park Chanyeol
Series: EXO Oneshots [17]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1257455
Comments: 12
Kudos: 45





	Bar Down

**Author's Note:**

  * For [fallacyofwhat](https://archiveofourown.org/users/fallacyofwhat/gifts).



> This fic is a request from my dearest J, which was to take inspiration from [this](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yk690mB9dvU&t=322s) video where a figure skater and an ice hockey player swap sports, with lots of sweetness and romance. I might or might not have gotten carried away while writing, to the point that the prompt became secondary instead of the main element of the oneshot, which was supposed to be a short one *looks at the word count* oops :') Also, I couldn't keep the angst away... I am so sorry for not respecting all the demands of your request, but your positive reaction to it gave me more confidence in this oneshot that was such a struggle to write. It's not like it wasn't in my drafts for three months... I also blame university for stealing everything away from me, from my free time that became nonexistant to my sanity. Nonetheless, this oneshot was really fun to write and I am really glad you liked it, J! *smooches your cheeks*
> 
> By the way, I have close to minus 30 level of knowledge about both sports the fic revolves around. Google and Youtube saved my ass but I am pretty sure some things are badly described even if I did try hard to make it as realistic as possible. I hope it won't be too cringy to read for the ones who are familiar with the sports >.<
> 
> And I apologise for the mistakes, it wasn't beta-ed yet.

_**Bar Down:** “A shot that hits the bottom of the crossbar and goes right down into the net. _ _Such a shot is normally responsible for an enormous grin by the shooter and for oohs and aahs from everyone else (except maybe the goalie).”_

The sound of his harsh breathing pulsating in his ears, of blades scraping and sliding over the ice surface, feeling the pressure of his own heart beating violently against his chest, his damp hair sticking to his forehead, beads of sweat pouring out of his pores, the sensation of his eyesight threatening to fool him from exhaustion yet not enough in order for him to lose his focus on the man in front of him maneuvering the puck with ease; Chanyeol relished in all of it. 

He watched his opponent standing in front of him, the other man’s frame slightly crouched in a teasing, mischievous manner as he smirked, spitting his mouth guard. He flashed him a cocky smile, his fatigue of the past hour spent racing around on the ice only detectable by his ragged breathing and his face reddened by his body heat, eyes drooping for a brief moment before his gaze set straight on Chanyeol’s orbs. Chanyeol gulped and squinted his eyes in a moment of fleeting distraction, attempting to remain focused on his opponent.

Sehun grasped the opportunity of Chanyeol’s faltering attention when he noticed the other man’s eyes following a trail of sweat sliding down his cheek, Sehun abruptly sprinting while passing by Chanyeol, not missing a beat as he bumped his shoulder harshly against the protective glass, stirring the distracted man from his daydreaming and effectively shooting the puck in the goal before the other could react. Chanyeol barely had any time to register the course of events that had happened that Sehun was already cheering in victory. His eyes widened, eyebrows furrowed, as he removed his helmet and spit his mouth guard. He had to take a few breaths before being able to speak. “Wha- what the fuck?”

Sehun’s cheeky grin shined too brightly for his liking, “You let your guard down, Yeol. I win!”

“No fucking way!”

The tall man removed his helmet as well and shook his head, his short black hair following the movement of his head, sweat falling and glistening over his jersey. He skated towards Chanyeol and stopped right before him, putting a hand on his left shoulder, hockey stick in his dominant hand. “There’s a reason why I’m the captain and not you. You can’t take over my place if my sweat keeps stealing the spotlight and intrigue you so much.”

Chanyeol wanted to slap Sehun’s grin off his face. “Fuck off,” he exclaimed while moving his shoulder in a rash movement, his captain’s hand effectively brushed away. Sehun’s laugh filled the wide area of the arena as he ruffled the younger’s hair, smiling fondly. Chanyeol fought against the smile tugging at his lips but barely managed to hide it. “Let’s have a rematch next week.” 

“Sure.” Sehun agreed before patting his back and exiting the rink. Chanyeol spent the next half an hour skating on his own without his helmet and hockey stick, solely for the purpose of letting some steam off and calm his racing heart down. He let his body cool down while skating around the rink, alternating between accelerating and skating slowly, simply feeling the cold air of the arena caress his face and taint his cheeks a faint pink. He exited the rink when he glanced at the clock hanged on the wall, notifying him with bold, red numbers that it was already past nine in the evening.

Stretching and taking a shower was always the most gratifying moment after a practice and a game, occasionally paired with a good, greasy meal consisting of fried chicken, white pickled radish and beer while slouched on his couch, an occasion Chanyeol didn’t let slip past him when he returned home that evening. He meticulously watched his diet, but fried chicken once in a while wouldn’t be of any harm. He would just have to work out a tiny bit more than usual the next days. Moreover, his flatmates Kyungsoo and Lu Han weren’t there to chide him for it. 

As he enjoyed his late meal, Chanyeol replayed in his mind his friendly yet fierce match with Sehun. He was so close to winning yet his concentration had failed him. But his teammate was right; that’s what made them different. While Sehun’s focus was perfectly tamed, his didn’t match the older’s level yet. He didn't have as much concentration in the long run and would sometimes make mistakes like the one he did during their matches, which could be fatal. One simple thing like that was crucial in a match; one cannot lose his concentration. His coach had warned him enough about this flaw of his, and others he was massively working on. One single goal could turn the tables and it was essential to gain as much endurance as possible, both physically and mentally, in order to be the greatest. Chanyeol’s concentration was truly tested when playing against his team’s captain, but the past weeks of intense practice was starting to play tricks on him, he could sense it. It was only mid-October and their team didn’t have tournaments until late November, but everyday was an occasion to polish his skills. The thought only of the start of the hockey season was enough to make Chanyeol ecstatic. 

When he finished eating his meal, his phone vibrated in his pocket, making him jump. He took his phone out and checked its content.

_From: Kyungie_

_remind me again why i am working with Han? 11:32 pm_

Attached to the text message was a picture of Lu Han grinning, definitely drunk, with a microphone in hand and a glass filled with a liquid Chanyeol couldn’t identify in the other. Chanyeol guessed they went to a business meeting that ended up in a karaoke party. He knew how Kyungsoo wasn’t fond of these in the first place.

_From: Kyungie_

_someone kill me, the man is tone deaf at that_

_and his japanese is hsit 11:33 pm_

_shit* 11:34 pm_

Chanyeol chuckled, reading Kyungsoo’s distressed texts with amusement.

_To: Kyungie_

_can’t be worse than our high school graduation_

_party 11:35 pm_

Mere seconds after sending the message, the chorus of Alexisonfire ‘Familiar Drugs’ started blaring from his phone, notifying him that he was receiving a call. He picked up as soon as he saw his flatmate’s name. _“You didn’t have to remind me of it, Yeol. I still have nightmares because of the kid’s stupidity,”_ his friend’s low voice resonated in his ears.

Chanyeol laughed loudly. He could even hear Kyungsoo’s huffed noises of disapprovement through the speakers. “Sorry about that.” Kyungsoo sighed, making Chanyeol somehow concerned. “Are you alright, Kyungsoo?”

_“Yeah, I’m just tired. Am I bothering you?”_

Chanyeol could make up an echo coming from the other end when his friend spoke each words. He furrowed his eyebrows in questionnement, “Don’t tell me you’re hiding in the toilets?”

 _“_. _..I might be?”_

“Is it that painful?”

_“No, I’m just… I don’t know.”_

Chanyeol put his take out box away as well as his empty bottle of beer and sat straight on his couch, earphones plugged in his device so he could hear his friend better. “Are the meetings not going well in Japan? I mean, aside from Lu Han getting shit faced drunk and ridiculing himself. And you, for that matter.”

_“The meetings are fine, everything is actually going quite smoothly. The company is about to sign with ours any time now, and they are impressed with Lu Han’s graphics for their new logo.”_

“Then what’s wrong?”

_“Nothing.”_

“You can’t lie to me. I can see right through you. Come on, spill it.” Chanyeol heard shuffle for a moment, and then silence, only Kyungsoo’s calm breathing echoing. Chanyeol’s voice went softer, hesitant, “Is it because of what you told me about the other day? About changing your career path?”

 _“I- I… Yeah.”_ Chanyeol could almost picture Kyungsoo in his mind, scratching his scalp in nervousness and gnawing his lower lip, an habit he had whenever he would be stressed out. _“Yeah, I just- I’m not feeling like that’s what I’m meant to do for my whole life, you know? I thought this through and the more I’m meeting the chairman of companies and attending meetings in Japan, the less sure I am.”_

Chanyeol already had a hint about Kyungsoo’s struggles, even though his friend hadn’t voiced his thoughts out much aside from that one time when they had emptied a bottle of wine on an evening a few months back. Kyungsoo wasn’t one to openly talk about this kind of thing easily, but Chanyeol knew him enough to see the signs the other man showed. 

_“I’m sorry, Yeol, but I’d rather talk about it when I’ll be back home. Anyone could enter anytime and I’m-”_ Kyungsoo halted his speech, speaking words in Japanese Chanyeol couldn’t quite understand with another man, an unfamiliar voice echoing as well through his earphones. The two men talked briefly before he heard the sound resembling one of a door closing. Kyungsoo sighed and then spoke through the phone again. _“They checked up on me because I’ve been in here for a while already. It’s better if I return to the room.”_

“Sure, and we can talk about it when you’ll be back home.”

_“Alright. Thank you, Yeol. Sorry to have disturbed you.”_

“You didn’t. Good luck with the company and also in enduring Lu Han’s ways.”

Chanyeol heard a loud groan on the other end, making him crack a small smile. _“Thanks. Talk to you later.”_

As soon as they hung up, Chanyeol let out a sigh and plopped down on his back on the couch, phone long forgotten as it slipped over his fingers and hit the floor with a ‘thud’, joining his abandoned leftovers. His eyelids closed as he relaxed on the furniture and fell asleep in a heartbeat, body and mind exhausted, mushy from his one on one match with Sehun earlier, thoughts about his worried friend floating in his mind.

o

Chanyeol woke up with sore muscles and badly, clumsily dried hair that had a mind of its own while the man was in deep slumber, his pastel vintage rosé hair -as he liked to call it and insisted that it was the only way to describe his hair colouration- partly stuck and flat on his scalp or puffy, wild locks in random directions, making his usually shoulder length strands look shorter. The odd mix was a sight that only made Chanyeol yawn and blink without a care in a world. While looking at his reflection in the mirror, he thought that Lu Han would have definitely made fun of him for his early morning appearance, but as a consolation, he had no doubt that his flatmate looked way worse than him at that moment.

His morning routine wasn't any different from usual; stretching and drinking his most favourite green smoothie that tasted way better than it looked, with a fresh kiwi flavour, his choice of the week. The spinach added a nice kick to it and effectively masked the not very pleasant taste of proteins. Homemade granola cereals were also an addition to his breakfast. He then shortly went to the stadium’s gym, even though his muscles protested against the amount of effort Chanyeol imposed on them, although taking it a bit less harder than usual due to the particularly intense match he had the previous evening. He had never undergone serious injuries, aside from two minor concussions and an almost broken arm, and he wasn't planning on changing it.

The arrival in the arena was painful. Chanyeol’s match with his captain might not have been the wisest decision, especially not before a team practice. Luckily, his portion of fried chicken wasn’t big enough to make him feel heavy, although there was no miracle solution to his spent muscles. 

“So, how was the duel yesterday? Did Sehun crush you again?” his teammate Jongdae asked while they tied the laces of their ice skates with all their equipment already secured on them, helmet in tow by their sides.

“You bet I did.”

“Shut up, you only won by one point,” Chanyeol defended himself, but the older man only grinned. Sehun could be a real tease at times, especially when it came to ice hockey. “Next time will be a tie.” 

Jongdae chuckled, wavy locks moving at his energetic motions that were as bright as his laugh, smile radiant as he elbowed Chanyeol, “Can’t wait to see that.”

“Alright guys, let’s go, coach is waiting.” Sehun ushered the team towards the rink, Chanyeol finishing to tie the laces of his skates. When he got up from the bench of the lockers, testing at the same time if his skates weren’t too tight or too loose, all his teammates had already exited, only his captain remaining. He was about to step outside of the room when Sehun called his name, “Chanyeol.” Said man turned his head around, only to be greeted by his captain’s unfaltering gaze, filled with an emotion he couldn’t quite decipher at that moment. “You’re doing great. You might actually have great chances of becoming captain in the next season. Keep up the good work.” He walked past Chanyeol while tapping his shoulder and heading towards the rink. 

Sehun had been scouted by another team for the Olympics and had accepted their offer, to the team’s dismay. They had yet to find a replacement for Sehun’s position. The latter had mentioned it only on rare occasions, but every time he did, he never once used the word ‘replacement’. And while Chanyeol thought he lacked leadership to have a high position such as captain, as well as many other important things in order to fulfill the role properly, to hear Sehun say such a statement about him made his chest feel tighter. With his lips curving upwards and a newfound motivation, Chanyeol followed his teammates’ example and joined them at the rink, a fresh bottle of water in hand, his helmet and hockey stick in the other, and a content mind.

However, the team wasn’t greeted by an empty rink like it was usually the case. In the middle of it was a man Chanyeol had never seen before, skating. The stranger’s presence on the rink was odd, considering the usual schedule of the arena. There were specific times for team and individual practices applying to both the hockey players and the figure skaters in the two ice rinks assigned to them, including figure skating classes offered there. But Chanyeol could tell that the man clearly wasn’t like any other ice skating enthusiast; he was a professional. His movements and the undeniable control over them couldn’t be something just anyone had the skills to achieve. He circled the entire rink with precise, elegant movements that felt like a second nature to the man. Chanyeol’s eyes followed the stranger’s strides, until he jumped and spinned before landing on the ice with ease, one leg outstretched and his arms opened wide. Chanyeol had no idea what the sequence of movements was called, but he was mesmerized.

However, to Chanyeol’s dismay, his admiration towards the figure skater’s graceful movements was short lived. “Junmyeon! Come over here for a moment!” As soon as an unfamiliar voice pronounced these words, the figure skater’s eyes found the ones of the owner’s voice, who was standing next to his coach. His eyes followed the figure skater, whom he guessed was called Junmyeon, as he slowed his pace and made a shortcut by skating through the middle of the rink, stopping in front of the older man that had addressed him. Chanyeol joined his teammates on the bench while curiously watching the exchange in front of them. “What’s going on?” he asked Jongdae. He only shrugged his shoulders as a response, the other ice hockey player as clueless as him. 

Their coach motioned the team towards the rink, the men obeying instantly as they entered the perimeter and started to warm up, stretching their muscles on the ice while the two strangers conversed outside the rink for a moment longer with the coach. Meanwhile, Chanyeol’s gaze was locked on Junmyeon, watching him as he talked with the person that seemed to be his trainer. From where he was stretching, the figure skater’s features weren’t clearly visible with his back facing him. He could only get a glimpse of a mop of short brown hair and what he guessed was an undercut. Having new athletes training and practicing in the stadium wasn’t something unusual; Chanyeol saw new faces from time to time in the lockers and the hallways, but he was familiar with most of the athletes scouted for teams or individual trainings since they mostly stayed for a few years. Maybe the man was a freshly scouted professional figure skater for the upcoming competitions?

A whistleblowing resonating through the area made all heads turn towards the coach, the older man asking for the team’s attention. “Alright guys, stretching should be done by now, we already lost ten minutes of practice. Can someone place the cones so we can start our exercises? We can’t afford to slack off if we want to win the national tournament! Hurry up!” Chanyeol glanced towards the back of the arena and barely managed to take a glimpse of the two newcomers before they exited the arena.

o

“Still eating that disgusting salad of yours?”

The sound of the door slamming jerked Chanyeol up from his almost slumber, head straightened up as he blinked his fatigue away, half eaten dinner resting on the small, modest wooden table in the kitchen. The chair in front of him screeched as a presence joined him. “This salad is very healthy and tasty, for your information,” Chanyeol managed to say in between a yawn, limbs stretching simultaneously.

“I doubt it’s a good as you say, mister who falls asleep while eating it.” The older woman scrunched her nose in disgust before opening her take out box, unappealing greasy smell of fries and hamburger invading Chanyeol’s nostrils. “No wonder why my brother broke up with you, your sense of taste is very much questionable and we all know that conquering someone’s heart depends on the food you fill your suitor’s stomach with.”

Chanyeol took a bite of his beet salad and looked at his ex boyfriend’s sister taking a huge bite of a cheeseburger. He shuddered in horror when he read the words ‘Mcdonald's’ inscribed on the box. He enjoyed fast food from time to time, heck, he even ate fried chicken the previous night, but Mcdonalds was another story. He never once ate their food without suffering from the aftermath of it. It was so bad once he had to skip practice or else he would have decorated the ice rink with the remnants of the food he had eaten the day before. He wondered how come Eleanor never gained weight no matter what she ate. She was as slim as could be. “And may I know why you’re invading my flat, _again_?”

“I will stop when you’ll find a way to steal my keys from me.” Chanyeol sighed and shook his head while taking another bite of salad.

Eleanor, no matter how annoying she could be, had always hit it off fairly well with Chanyeol and his flatmates, resulting in her still staying in contact with them when her brother burned the bridges between them. Jett and Chanyeol’s relationship had lasted four months, which was a time frame long enough for the twenty two and twenty nine year old duo at that time to grow close. Four years later, the two were still good friends and whenever Eleanor found their clashing schedules too bothering, she would break into Chanyeol’s flat to pay him a mostly unannounced visit, using the spare key he had given his brother at the time they were dating. Jett had returned to his hometown in Australia shortly after their break up, Eleanor staying in Busan to learn Korean properly, which led to her finding a pretty good and well paid job as an English teacher in high school. No matter how often they would argue for petty and irrelevant things, Chanyeol wouldn’t trade her for anyone else.

“You really look like shit today. Did a guy turn you down or something?”

Chanyeol only realised he had spaced out a few seconds later and then shook his head. Eleanor stared at him, an ounce of concern on her face. Ketchup was staining the corner of her left cheek, Chanyeol noted, and he shaped his napkin like an airplane and threw it at her, “Clean your face first. You shouldn’t nag me about my failure of a love life when yours is worse than mine.”

She took the napkin and removed the ketchup on her skin before eating a fry, seemingly unbothered. “Ha ha. Seriously, what’s beating you up like that?”

“Just practice. I’m so fucking sore today, I just want to crash on my bed and sleep until I die.”

“Not on my watch, mister.” The older woman searched in her bag for a while, Chanyeol sighing and already resigning for whatever she had in mind. The woman was the most hard headed person he knew. He reasoned that it was one of the reasons why the both of them clashed regularly. She eventually took a DVD out of her bag and slid it towards the ice hockey player on the table.

Chanyeol raised his eyebrows and gave Eleanor a side glance. “500 Days of Summer?”

The woman grinned, “Yep. And you’re watching it with me tonight. It’s a date.”

“Twenty six year old men don’t watch rom coms. And you have horrible taste in those.”

“Hush, you ignorant fool. This one is different, one of my favourites. And you’re a hypocrite if you keep nagging when people blurt about stereotypes when you just did that.”

“Touché,” Chanyeol exclaimed while raising his arms in the air in surrender, making Eleanor smirk victoriously. “This plan of yours cannot end well.”

“Come on, let’s migrate on the couch and watch it!”

“If you’re bringing your meal, you’re cleaning the stains. I still have beer stains on my dearest furniture from the night two months ago when you cried over your shitty, cheating ex.”

“Yeah, don’t remind me of the dickhead.”

Chanyeol sighed once again as he watched Eleanor get up and take her disgusting food with her towards the living room. She hurriedly inserted the DVD inside the DVD player, a huge grin on her face, and she excitedly flopped on the couch, fries and hamburger in the take out box. He could never have the last word with her. Chanyeol got up as well but could hardly hide the smile on his lips, joining his friend on the couch while she was choosing the settings of the movie. He knew he would fall asleep in the middle of it, but seeing Eleanor’s eyes light up when the first scene started playing on the screen made him think that no matter how exasperating she could be, he was lucky to have her in his life. He was very fond of her, even if she could get on his nerves easily, and he wasn’t sure if Eleanor knew about it or if she had felt it with what she called her ‘sixth sense as a woman’ but the flat was getting too empty without his flatmates. Her surprise visit was actually a nice move. His brother might have ended up as a bad encounter, but Eleanor was nothing of that sort. 

Maybe ending his exhausting night watching a romance movie wouldn’t be that bad.

o

A chilly breeze brushed Chanyeol’s face rather forcefully when he rounded a corner, his knuckles turning red and his face definitely mirroring the same reaction. Chanyeol could guess it by the piercing tingles assaulting his cheeks. He was midway in his jogging outside and was now facing the opposite direction of the wind. This part of the trail close to the stadium was one of his favourite during the summer since it provided refreshing air, especially since it was the point where he could finally be surrounded by actual nature instead of roaring engines and crowded stores. The run upwards the hills was always pleasant, but what he qualified as being refreshing wasn’t as agreeable when the weather was colder, which was the case that mid-autumn day. However, Chanyeol didn’t mind the cold welcome; he was never one to enjoy running on machines in the gym. He only ran inside when he didn’t have any other choice. 

A couple of minutes in the most rocky part of the trail and Chanyeol was grateful for the chilly gusts of wind hitting his face. It counterbalanced the almost unbearable heat from his body investing so much into the run. It reminded him of the ice rink, being stuck in between two clashing temperatures. It’s a sensation he had always liked ever since stepping foot in an arena for the first time. The cold of the arenas in general was something he had to get accustomed to though. 

Thinking about it swept him with nostalgia for a moment, reminiscing of the times when he was still a kid, staying after school to play field hockey, then ending up spending most of his free time in the ice rink before switching to ice hockey. The latter had always been more satisfying and challenging. He would have never guessed that his hobby would become his career and greatest passion. He was lucky to have been scouted by the city’s ice hockey team right when he was losing hope about succeeding. His parents had asked him countless times what he would do when he would reach the young age of retirement. He always brushed it off, not wanting to think about even the possibility of reaching his limits as an athlete. He was only twenty six but this meant that it was his prime. He only had a few years left before he would be considered as old in the field. The mere thought of it made an unpleasant weight pool at the pit of his stomach. 

Chanyeol shook his head and realised at the same occasion that the album ‘V:I’ had ended. He pulled his smart phone out and selected the next album ‘V:II,’ making ‘Sodavatten’ play instantly in his earphones. He had multiple workout playlists but he would sometimes choose to listen to full albums instead. It so happened that he was in the mood to listen to Movits! that day.

The team’s practice wasn’t a sparing one. It never was, but Chanyeol could feel the past week’s intense training and fatigue pile up physically, but also psychologically. He was very much looking forward his day off the next day. No workout, no practice, no waking up early; just thinking about it made him sigh in anticipation. But before that, he had to do a series of drills and sprints, manoeuver the puck against his teammates as well as practice their teamwork, aim at the goal and push their endurance as much as they could. Each of them knew their limits, the coach more than aware of it as well, and he insisted on never going past their breaking point even if he pushed them to surpass themselves. 

After stretching thoroughly and taking a much needed shower, he headed towards the food court hall of the stadium. It wasn’t an habit of his but he would sometimes buy a snack in between his practices. While waiting in line at his usual food court, he received a notification from Eleanor, followed by a bunch of other ones. 

_From: Elligator_

_Kris is releasing a mixtape in 3 weks!! 17:02 pm_

_I repeatt 17:02 pm_

_Kris is realeasing a MIXTAPE 17:02 pm_

_in 3 weeks!!!! 17:02 pm_

**_!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!_ ** _17:03 pm_

 **** _O_______O 17:03 pm_

He put his phone on silent for the sake of the other athletes around him. The phone dinged so much he shook his head, a fond smile forming on his lips.

_To: Elligator_

_the amount of typos hurts my eyes 17:03 pm_

_From: Elligator_

_i say that Kris 17:04 pm_

_fucking KRIS WU 17:04 pm_

_is releazing a mixtape an dthe only thing you_

_mention is my typos? 17:05 pm_

Chanyeol only had the time to order a large bowl of bibimbap for takeout that El had tried to call him twice and bombarded him with ‘why aren’t you answering???’ text messages. He typed a quick ‘can’t speak now’ before paying and taking the food, telling her it was old news. He had already learned about the rapper’s release a few days ago. ‘i should seriously get my insta password back’ was her reply. They exchanged a few other messages before promising that he would call her when he’ll get home.

“Chanyeol!” Said man looked around, scanning the hall to find the source of the voice that had called him. He was about to leave when he didn’t locate it, when he was called again, this time louder. While scanning the room a second time, a movement caught his eyes and he recognised a familiar figure waving at him. Once their eyes locked, the man motioned for him to join him. 

Chanyeol narrowed at the table at the far back of the hall with a couple of strides and smiled, “Hey Jongin.” The younger male greeted him again, eyes wide and hair damp. Chanyeol could count the number of times Jongin had his hair dry with his fingers, the professional swimmer never bothering to dry it. “I bet you’re coming back from practice?”

“Same old, same old. Take a seat, we were in the middle of eating.” Jongin had company, Chanyeol instantly recognising and greeting Soon Hwa, a young woman also a part of the swimming team. He had watched her perform in a competition last year and was impressed by her skills. She greeted him back while he put his takeout box on the table. But when he took a seat next to Jongin, Chanyeol wasn’t expecting to come face to face with a figure he had met three days prior. “This is Junmyeon, he’s the new figure skating professor. Have you two met yet?”

“No, we haven’t,” Junmyeon said, offering Chanyeol a kind smile and a bow, which Chanyeol reciprocated. “It’s nice to meet you… Chanyeol?”

“Yes, Chanyeol. Nice to meet you too.” 

He didn’t intend to eat at the food hall at first, only to buy healthy prepared food, to eat half of it at home and to keep the other half for his lunch or breakfast the following day. He might have been too lazy to cook lately. But while watching the other three athletes digging into their plates, he figured he could start eating now as well. It would be less lonely than eating with only himself as company at home, he reasoned. Having taken his decision, he opened the box and revealed its content, taking the plastic spoon out of its enclosure. While taking his first bite, Jongin eyed his box suspiciously. “Bibimbap? That’s not very original,” he teased.

Chanyeol responded by eyeing his friend’s plate as well, quirking an eyebrow. “What about you? Tonkatsu? I thought you were watching your eating habits.”

“The idiot right here skipped lunch because he took a late breakfast. You know how we can’t eat right before entering the pool. Now he’s starving and using it as an excuse to stuff himself with his favourite.” Following Soon Hwa’s comment, the duo started bickering. If Jongin wouldn’t have leaned the other way, Chanyeol was sure the two would have made a great couple. Fondness was radiating from Soon Hwa’s orbs as she poke fun at Jongin, knowing exactly where and how to push his buttons to annoy him. He loved watching this childish side of Soon Hwa, who was calm and composed by nature, a side that only came out fully once she was around Jongin. The two considered themselves as siblings and Chanyeol found it heartwarming. They truly made a great pair.

Chanyeol didn’t seem to be the only one entertained by the swimmers’ exchange. Junmyeon was watching the duo with curiosity, eyes trained on Jongin’s expressive gestures and facial expressions as he tried to prove Soon Hwa wrong, the latter merely settling on nodding with a grin, feigning to agree with the younger. Chanyeol took the occasion to observe Junmyeon, more closely this time. His short hair was neatly styled backwards, exposing his forehead and an undercut, as he had suspected the day he had seen him for the first time. While looking closely, he noticed that black roots were shyly peeking out of his light caramel brown hair. His facial features were soft, highlighted by a radiant smile, relatively thick eyebrows and cutely, perfectly shaped nose. He had delicate features, with an ounce of femininity, yet they evoked masculinity in their own way. ‘Gentle’ was the only word that came to mind as Chanyeol observed him. His eyes bore delicacy as well, sporting a dark yet soft chocolate brown tone-- Chanyeol averted his eyes once he realised that the other man was staring straight at him.

The next few bites Chanyeol took were poor attempts at shaking the feeling of the figure skater’s gaze he could sense on him. Meanwhile, Jongin and Soon Hwa talked about their training that had ended an hour earlier and how the swimming team had planned a hiking trip in two weeks.

“You’re a part of the ice hockey team, Chanyeol?”

Chanyeol gulped his spoonful of bibimbap and nodded, eyes meeting Junmyeon’s curious ones. “Yeah, I also saw you a couple of days ago skating on the rink.”

“You were there? How embarrassing,” Junmyeon scratched his hair in embarrassment, making Chanyeol’s gaze trail on his teal t-shirt, which revealed his toned arms. He averted his gaze and took another spoonful of his dinner. “My uncle and I had just arrived in the stadium for the first time and weren’t aware of the schedule. The email containing the stadium’s information and schedules wasn’t sent to the right address.”

So that’s what the reason of the unusual event was about. It’s only then that Chanyeol recalled Jongin’s previous statement about him. “You’re a professor here?”

Junmyeon nodded, “Yes. I’m giving my second figure skating course in the stadium tonight.”

“Is Miss Eun Ji retiring?” Chanyeol asked, confused. He wasn’t aware of a change of professor. The old woman was still as energetic as could be and had an unparalleled reputation in the field of figure skating, having won more gold medals and titles Chanyeol could count in two hands. She was one of the reasons an impressive amount of aspiring professional athletes enrolled in her classes in the stadium. Her courses were in high demand in spite of her hard character and heavy expectations. She had formed some of the most successful and imposing figures competing the past twenty years. 

“No, she isn’t. I’m teaching toddlers, not the advanced classes. Although I give beginner adult and teenager courses too.”

“I can totally imagine you giving classes to kids, I bet they adore you already.”

Junmyeon chuckled at Jongin’s statement, “That’s something that has yet to be confirmed. Either way, I’m sorry to cut it short but I would like to get into the ice-skating rink and get ready before the classes start.”

“Isn’t your first class starting in two hours?”

“Leave him be, Jongin. Let the new professor get accustomed to the stadium in his own pace.”

Soon Hwa’s remark made Junmyeon crack a small smile, seemingly thankful for her input. “I’ll be going now then. Also, thank you for welcoming me so warmly in the stadium Soon Hwa, Jongin.” He bowed at the pair who bowed as well. The figure skater then locked eyes with Chanyeol, “It was great meeting you, Chanyeol. See you some other time?”

“Sure.”

Once the athletes bid their goodbyes to the newcomer, they chatted for an hour in the hall before each of them tended to their own duties. Chanyeol broke into a loud and long yawn once he stepped home, heading straight towards the living room and crash on the couch. He blinked his tear stained eyes and closed them for a moment, savouring the sensation of his muscles relaxing on the furniture, a sensation he took the greatest satisfaction in. There was nothing better than the feeling of having accomplished a hard day of work, punctuated with a lot of relief once the pain of physical effort lessened, the burn not quite eased yet fulfilling. He liked feeling mushy once he could rest, it made him feel productive and great. He had a hunch he wouldn’t sleep late that evening.

He was about to doze off once the phone rang, tearing him apart from the dreamland he was close to. Too lazy to get up, he let the phone ring until it stopped. But the phone rang again, making him groan and slowly get up from the couch. His groan deepened once he read the caller ID. “Fuck.”

He had completely forgotten to call El, who gave him an earful and chatted his ears out for the next hours. His prediction of sleeping early that evening proved to be wrong.

o

  
  


The week had finally passed and Chanyeol was ecstatic. While lifting weights, huffs coming out in short breaths with each physical effort, he glanced at the clock that ticked way too slowly to his taste. Kyungsoo had texted him an hour earlier than he and Lu Han had arrived at the Narita airport safely. Their meetings were fruitful and they were now ready to go back to South Korea with a new contract signed and applauses from their director awaiting them at the headquarters. To say that Chanyeol was impatient to pick them up at the airport was an understatement. Text messages and random memes weren’t enough to fill the missing pieces in Chanyeol’s daily life their absence had created. He wouldn’t have suspected that their company was so engraved in his life and that he would come to miss them as much. After all, they had spent half of their life together, meeting in high school and never parting ways ever since. He wished he hadn’t eaten fried chicken the previous week since tonight couldn’t be spent without eating the unhealthy meal. Chanyeol lifted the weights with more energy while reasoning that he would just need to train harder to compensate.

“Time won’t go faster if you keep staring at it, you know?” Chanyeol dropped the weights and sighed, restless. He took the towel by his feet and wiped the trails of sweat glistening over the expense of his face and neck. Jongin lifted his weights before disposing of them as well, mirroring Chanyeol’s actions and taking long gulps of his water bottle. “When are they arriving in Busan already?”

“Four o’clock.”

Once Chanyeol glanced at the clock which showed six minutes past one, he ruffled his hair slick with sweat with his towel and sighed again, earning him an exaggerated eye roll from his gym partner paired with a friendly tap on the back. “Do you have anything planned with them tonight?”

“Not really? They are coming back from quite a long business trip, I think they will want to relax by themselves after having spent so much time around each other, although we might order fried chicken and beer and laze around.”

“Mhmm.”

“But from what they told me, the business trip was a huge success. The new record label adored Lu Han’s graphics for their logo and one of the bands under them even gave them their contact information because they are interested for a potential album cover design. And the other companies they met were impressed by them.”

“Mhmmm.”

“Album covers aren’t a part of their field of interest, especially not for the company, but Lu Han might give it a try, open up new horizons you know? And I’m pretty sure he would be capable of it.”

“Mhmm.”

“I also heard that farting once a day helps growing hair.”

“Mmmmm.”

“Jongin.”

“Mhmm.”

Chanyeol looked at the direction where Jongin’s eyes were intently set, recognising the source of his distraction. He nudged Jongin’s legs with his, earning him a startled and wide, innocent stare. “Jongin, you’re spacing out, or rather more interested into checking Minseok out than listening to my rambling, which I won’t argue against, but still.”

“Sorry…”

The younger man glanced at Minseok’s direction once more before sighing and emptying his bottle of its content. Chanyeol didn’t like the dejected look on his friend’s face at all. “Are you alright Jongin?”

“It’s just a tiny little crush. It will pass, don’t worry.” Jongin’s melancholic smile didn’t do anything but make Chanyeol even more concerned for his friend. Unrequited love was no laughing matter, as he had personally experienced. Minseok, a volleyball athlete, had caught Jongin’s eyes since day one a couple of months ago. If it wasn’t for the fact that the older man was getting married with a woman and that Jongin knew it just recently after catching a glimpse of a golden ring proudly wrapped around his finger and some gossips amongst the man’s fellow teammates in the food court, he would have been left in the dark with an eternal unrequited romantic interest he only had hopes would be mutual. 

Chanyeol got up, put Jongin’s towel over his head and ruffled it playfully until Jongin squatted his hands away, not too forcefully but enough to send him the signal that he wasn’t in the mood for his teasing. Chanyeol then put the towel back on his friend’s shoulders and gestured for him to get up as well. “Come on, let’s shower.” Jongin nodded and followed Chanyeol’s words while flashing him a small, apologetic smile. Chanyeol responded by bumping his shoulder lightly, which brightened his friend’s gaze for a moment before he eyed his love interest once again. His gaze lingered for a moment before he lead the way towards the showers. Jongin was clearly crestfallen over the outcome of the situation, but Chanyeol knew that deep down, he had resigned to his fate with his crush. 

It was really too bad, falling for a straight and unavailable man. Jongin deserved better. Ironically enough, Minseok, unaware of Jongin’s internal struggle, waved at the two friends when they passed by him towards the gym showers. Jongin’s expression was heartbreaking. Chanyeol could only squeeze him by the shoulders and hope he would get over the clueless volleyball player quickly.

Spending an hour at the gym was a good way to pass time until his flatmates would arrive in the country, but Chanyeol found himself running out of alternatives to kill the hours remaining. He had crossed paths with Jongdae in the lockers and had chatted him up for a moment, but the latter left him to start his daily workout. Jongin had also left to meet with his father, the two having planned a day together to catch up before his father would spend a week out of the country with his wife. Chanyeol had put his sweater and earphones on, ready to go for a walk, but seeing the rain pouring abundantly didn’t make him want to step outside in the slightest. If it wouldn’t be for the fact that he had already trained in the rink in the morning, he would have gone there without hesitation. The options left were little, and so Chanyeol opted to sit in the hall made for the athletes to rest, which contained some of the most comfortable, fluffy couches and pillows Chanyeol had ever laid on. There were tons of books about various topics too, going from informative health books to light novels. Chanyeol didn’t venture in the area much but Saturdays like this one called for this kind of measure. 

While Chanyeol was walking past the wing of the stadium with the ice-skating rink opened to the public, a woman bumped his shoulder before apologising profusely as she was jogging in a rush towards the rink. Chanyeol quirked an eyebrow in confusion once the woman who had collided with him disappeared after entering it, lively and scratching noises undoubtedly coming from blades scraping ice echoing in the corridor, catching Chanyeol’s attention. After a moment, he reached the entrance of the rink and took a peek. There was a group of about twenty people visibly from a wide age range, mostly adults. The woman who had ran in the rink was putting her ice skates on on the benches while the others were skating in the rink, practicing a certain pattern of strides, as Chanyeol could guess. The man standing in the middle of the rink and following them on a few occasions gave them instructions, his voice loud enough to go over the sounds created by the blades against the ice. Chanyeol’s curiosity was at its peak once the man faced his direction, meeting the woman’s eyes as she entered the rink while bowing in apology. The man, whom Chanyeol could now identify as being Junmyeon, exchanged a few words with her before she bowed again and joined the others. After watching them from the door, Chanyeol discreetly entered the arena and took a seat in the last row, hoping not to be seen. Maybe he could watch Junmyeon’s class for a while?

Chanyeol couldn’t imagine how unnerving it must be for Junmyeon to take up classes in the middle of the trimester, not knowing what the students had learned with their past professor and having to correct techniques that could have been skimmed through quicker than should have been, or to set a proper pace that would not only match with his own, but also the stadium’s. To top it off, each trimester ended with a public show that gave the occasion for the students to showcase their developed skills and aptitudes. It meant that Junmyeon would have to create choreographies rather quickly, but judging from the level of the students he took over, it was still too early for them to present a full on choreography. That was at least a task less to worry about for the new professor.

But in spite of all the burdening parameters that came along Junmyeon’s sudden arrival, the man seemed to be doing fairly well. Jongin had exclaimed that the kids would most likely love him and he could understand what pushed Jongin to make such an affirmation; Junmyeon’s level of adaptation showed as he was truly attentive to the group’s and each individual’s needs, identifying their weaknesses instantly and giving clear and well explained tips, taking into consideration each of their levels and not expect the same level of delivery for everyone based on their capacities. Even if Chanyeol only observed the class and Junmyeon’s behaviour for the next twenty minutes, he could tell that the students were comfortable around their new professor. Junmyeon made sure that the basics were well assimilated, all the while being welcoming and likeable. He had an energy that was quite soothing and agreeable. Chanyeol found himself being wrapped in his positive energy as well.

It’s only when the class ended, the students leaving towards the lockers and not sparing their thanks to Junmyeon, that Chanyeol realised how fast time had passed. He stretched his arms for a moment before getting ready to leave his seat, noting that he should take more time to rest since he was getting tired more easily than usual. He could definitely do without straining and overexertion. But right when he was putting his duffle bag on his shoulder, his gaze met Junmyeon’s. The latter took a second to recognise him but gave him a smile and a nod as soon as he did, Chanyeol acknowledging him back.

Chanyeol was surprised to see Junmyeon climbing the stairs in his direction after bidding goodbye to the last student present in the arena. “Good afternoon, Chanyeol! I wasn’t expecting to see you here today.” Junmyeon’s smile was way too bright and he felt himself being charmed a tiny bit by the kindness it was holding. He was sure of it now; the kids would definitely love Junmyeon. 

“I am the most surprised at it.” Junmyeon’s chuckle radiated pure gentleness and its contagiousness spread to Chanyeol, not able to restrain a small smile from crooking the corner of his lips. “I was just passing by and couldn’t help but see how your classes look like.”

“Did I manage to convince you that my figure skating classes aren’t missing material?”

Chanyeol chuckled at his remark. The man had a sense of humour to add to his seemingly gentle nature. “My fingers are itching to take my credit card out and sign up right this instant.” Seeing Junmyeon smile victoriously made Chanyeol actually want to do just that. “In all seriousness, you’re doing quite well. Congratulations on your new job at the stadium.”

“Thank you, but you’re too kind. I have a lot to learn and a lot of adaptation still.”

“Well, I think you’re up to a great start.”

“I’m glad you think so. Thank you.”

Chanyeol smiled yet again and glanced at his watch, only to look at it again, eyes widening. “Fuck, I need to go now.”

“Oh, maybe we could go together? I’m leaving now too, it was my last course of the day.” It was already a couple of minutes past three and his friends would land at four. Chanyeol wanted to arrive earlier than the flight’s arrival but he still had time. Junmyeon probably wouldn’t take thirty minutes to gather his belongings to leave. Chanyeol also had taken his car, an exception for the special circumstances since he always walked or jogged to go to the stadium, and there wouldn’t be much traffic at this time, especially not with the rainy forecast. “Are you in a rush? I only have to take my coat, put my shoes on and then we’ll be good to go. Or am I bothering you?”

“No, not at all, we can leave together.”

“Great! We can join each other at the entrance?”

“Sounds good.” The two men were already outside of the arena when Chanyeol stopped Junmyeon before he would go towards his locker, a thought crossing his mind. “Are you taking the public transportation?”

“Yes, either the bus or the subway, it depends on if I can catch the bus in time or not.”

“Where are you heading to?”

“Jurye-dong.”

Chanyeol furrowed his eyebrows in concentration. After a moment of reflection, he looked at Junmyeon, “Jurye-dong? I could give you a lift. I’m heading to the airport and it’s on the way.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, if you’re comfortable with that.”

“If I’m not imposing on you, I would love to.”

“Perfect, let’s meet at the entrance then. I’ll give you a ride.”

“Thank you, I’ll be quick.”

Junmyeon so far was also a man of his words since five minutes later, they were already in Chanyeol’s car, seatbelts on and Chanyeol’s phone plugged in the audio system, debating on which kind of music to play. Most people he knew didn’t have as much of a versatile music taste as he did and he wasn’t sure what Junmyeon would like. After all, Jurye-dong wasn’t at the corner. He opted in the end to put Boycold ‘Post Youth’ to at least brighten the mood of the car despite the gloomy weather. As soon as the engine was off, the wipers accompanying the sound of the music with a matchless rhythm, silence settled between the two new acquaintances. Chanyeol didn’t mind it, lowly singing along. He could see Junmyeon slightly bobbing his head to the beat as well, making him mentally give a pat on the back to himself at the successful choice of music for their ride.

“Are you going to meet someone at the airport?” Junmyeon asked, a question to which Chanyeol hummed affirmatively.

“I’m going to pick up two of my friends. What about you? What’s your business in Jurye-dong?”

“My uncle is hosting me in his home at the moment, until I find an apartment and settle in the city, so I’m going back to my temporary home.”

“That’s very nice of him, although not convenient. Jurye-dong is quite far from the stadium.”

“I don’t mind it that much. And I like taking care of my cousins with him, so it’s worth it.” Chanyeol hummed. So if the man that was with him when he was skating on the rink was his uncle, he didn’t have a trainer accompanying him. It made sense, considering the fact that he was not an athlete scouted but rather a professor.

Fifteen minutes later and laughter was resonating in the car, the music merely background sound as the two men chatted with great interest. “That’s what I thought, you have the Seoul accent,” Chanyeol gesticulated with his hand with energy, the car stopped at a red light.

“Yes, I’m a pure breed Seoul citizen. It’s my first time in Busan.”

“First time in Busan? You have no idea what you’ve missed all your… Twenty five? twenty six years of life?”

“You’re flattering me.” 

“You can’t be much older than that.”

Junmyeon chuckled at Chanyeol’s statement, “I’m thirty two.”

“Thirty two years spent without going to Busan? No fucking way, it was about time you leave Seoul! You should totally try the seafood here. There are really delicious restaurants around the beaches. I could also show you around, it would give me an excuse to do something else than spend my entire days rotting in the stadium.”

Louder chuckles escaped Junmyeon’s lips, making Chanyeol feel warmer. The man truly had a lovable character. “It would be really great! My uncle wanted to take me to some places today but the rain is making it hard. I think we’ll settle on going to the movies with my cousins.”

Sooner than Chanyeol had expected, or rather way quicker than he would have wished, they reached Junmyeon’s destination, the two leaving on a good note as they promised to meet on Tuesday after Chanyeol’s team practice, the two men exchanging their phone numbers at the same occasion.

o

Chanyeol couldn’t deny that Junmyeon was good looking. Scratch that; he was tremendously attractive. If only it was solely because of his looks, of his delicate yet strong body kept in shape after years of training in figure skating and workouts, of his hairstyle -especially when he combed strands of hair clumsily with his fingertips or when his usual hair styled backwards were set loose like the day Chanyeol spotted him getting out of the showers of the gym-, of his fierce yet gentle, caring gaze, his facial features that complemented his kind and as equally beautiful personality. Junmyeon not only had proven to be as kind as he appeared to be, but he was also well mannered, respectful, a total jokester at times yet serious when needed, he held onto his values and principles strongly, he had charisma, he had a strong passion and he had confidence in himself and his choices, which Chanyeol found utterly appealing. 

And spending a lot of his free time with Junmyeon the next two weeks were not helping him in keeping the charming man out of his mind. It didn’t take long before their excuse to spend time together for the sake of introducing Busan to Junmyeon was outdated. Chanyeol could talk to Junmyeon about anything, could bring up the weirdest topics he could think about; he was sure not a single ounce of judgement was present in the figure skater’s being. And as he was dining with Kyungsoo, Lu Han and Junmyeon, he was struggling to detach his eyes from the figure skater sitting in front of him, conversing with Chanyeol’s friends he had been introduced to for the first time that evening. His eyes, when laughing, formed beautiful crescents, ones that were absolutely lovely with his smile. Chanyeol felt his brain short circuit when Lu Han cracked a joke, which quickly lead to a series of movements culminating to Junmyeon’s smile widening and revealing his teeth in a blinding manner.

Chanyeol knew he had always preferred men. It wasn’t a secret in the team either and luckily, they didn’t make fun of him or spouted degrading comments because of it. He had horrible experiences in the hockey teams he had joined in high school because of his sexual orientation. It was unbelievable how judgemental kids could be, throwing discriminatory names at him and making his life a living hell in order for him to quit ice hockey, simply because ‘gay men can’t play hockey.’ It was as stupid as that. And it was quite hypocritical of his past teammates too, since they were the ones who confirmed Chanyeol’s sexuality; his first romantic and sexual experiences with other men were with some of his teammates, who coincidentally were the most brutal and insulting in regards to him. He had sworn at that time to never date fellow teammates ever again. It only brought trouble.

But Junmyeon wasn’t a part of his hockey team and it complicated his jumbled feelings. He could feel himself free falling into Junmyeon’s trap that were his charms and great character. Chanyeol was undeniably attracted to him. Spending the last two weeks in his company whenever their schedules allowed it wasn’t good for his mixed heart. They had barely known each other for three weeks, but it was enough for them to get to know each other and to grow closer as friends, and also for Chanyeol to be stuck in Junmyeon’s grasp. He could maybe blame the fact that it had been a while since he had dated. It wasn’t like he had the time with his career either to meddle love into it, but feelings couldn’t be controlled. And Junmyeon was creating chaos in Chanyeol’s heart and soul, throwing his feelings all over the place.

An elbow hitting his arm awoke him from his stray thoughts, making him momentarily detach his gaze from the figure skater. He turned his head towards the source of his return to the present and was greeted by Kyungsoo’s concerning expression, “Are you alright, Yeol?”

He nodded and took a gulp of water, earning him a totally unconvinced look from the smaller man. Chanyeol assured him that he was fine and placed his fresh piece of salad filled with meat, kimchi and bean sprouts on his tongue, savouring its succulent taste. This restaurant was one of his favourites in Busan, not far from the Haeundae beach. His eyes then naturally found Junmyeon again. “...ly knew the amount of jokes I’ve heard throughout my career and training because I’m a man doing figure skating.”

“I swear, there are so many ignorant asses out there.”

Junmyeon grinned as he placed the meat over the small piece of salad on the palm of his hand. “That’s right, and although it used to make me self conscious at the time, I learned to ignore them.” Chanyeol gulped the mouthful of food caressing his taste buds and reached another piece of salad, trying to catch up on the conversation he had missed earlier when caught in his trail of thoughts. 

“We didn’t have it easy either, when we were in the ice hockey team back in the days, the three of us. I can’t remember the number of fights we got into while defending Chanyeol.”

“Fights? Why?”

“Because the brainless little shits were convinced that a gay man didn’t have a place in their ice hockey team.”

Chanyeol choked at Lu Han’s blunt statement, thrown in a coughing fit. Kyungsoo was fast to hand him his glass of water, Chanyeol accepting it readily and coughing a little bit more before drinking the water in a haste. He looked at Junmyeon, alarmed, feeling the tension escalate in his body, muscles as rigid as could be. He could even feel a trail of sweat making its way out along the side of his face, accompanying his heart beating wildly against his chest. He couldn’t believe that Lu Han had made such a declaration while Junmyeon wasn’t aware of Chanyeol’s sexual orientation. What if it would scare Junmyeon away? What if Junmyeon would avoid him? They had just started to become closer friends. Little was the number of people that had stayed by his side after knowing he was attracted to men. He was convinced that Junmyeon wouldn’t have the heart to make judgements about his sexuality, but he had learned through countless experiences that the people you trusted the most could be the most deceiving.

“That’s awful. I’m really sorry for you and I can only understand how you must have felt. After all, I’ve been made fun of all of my life because my passion is a sport ‘made for women’ and other various reasons. It’s admirable that you two stood by Chanyeol’s side. Such great and loyal friends can’t be found just anywhere.”

Chanyeol gazed in Junmyeon’s honest, strong yet gentle eyes, rendering him speechless at the amount of emotions and compassion in it. He felt his muscles release the tension they held when the gaze of the man sitting in front of him only softened each passing second. Chanyeol couldn’t find the words to express the amount of emotions hitting him at that moment. Being accepted, being cared about, being respected for who he was. Something in Junmyeon’s eyes, a sincerity and something Chanyeol couldn’t really pinpoint, held a genuine spark that made his stomach twist in emotions.

“Man, I can’t believe you’ve been harassed too for such stupid reasons. There are too many fucktards on Earth.” Lu Han’s dry response stirred them from their somehow intimate moment, Junmyeon looking at Lu Han and nodding in approval. He glanced at Chanyeol before taking another piece salad, Chanyeol doing the same, and smiling when the two aimed for the kimchi at the same time. Chanyeol’s heart definitely didn’t skip a beat at the sight.

o

“So, when will you two start dating?”

Chanyeol choked on his saliva -how many times would he be the victim of Lu Han’s straight forwardness that day?- and took a moment to recover, from both the physical impact and the question that totally took him off guard. They had barely entered the flat after their dinner with Junmyeon yet Lu Han’s first words were as blunt and unpredictable as ever. “Wha-what do you mean, ‘dating’?”

“Don’t give me that look, you two have been staring at each other the whole evening as if we were ghosts. Why didn’t you tell us that you have a crush on him?”

“I- I’m not-”

“Are you telling me that you’re not into him?”

“I- Well… I don’t really know, okay?”

“Let me enlighten you, in case your mind is unaware of it; you clearly have a thing for him. You spaced out all evening, eyes all over him, smiling even when he didn’t say anything funny. You two kept eating each other’s faces off with your, might I add, very unsubtle gazes. I felt like a third wheel with Kyungsoo.”

“Wait, ‘each other’? Junmyeon didn’t-”

Lu Han rolled his eyes discouragingly, “Oh, trust me, he’s been watching you all evening as much as you did. Especially after I outed you. Which, by the way, I am very sorry about. I thought he was aware of it since it isn’t a secret amongst the teams at the stadium. But after seeing his reaction, I’m not sorry at all. It actually gave you two a kick in the ass towards a blooming love.”

“Don’t you think you’re seeing too far ahead? I don’t know if Junmyeon likes men, I don’t even know if he’s dating someone.”

“You’re clearly crushing on each other and it hurts me to see how oblivious you are to it.”

“Han, I think it’s enough.” Kyungsoo stood in the kitchen, leaned on the counter with his arms crossed as he watched his flatmates’ exchange. Chanyeol only then noticed the prominent eyebags on his friend’s face. “Don’t meddle into it, let them figure their stuff out by themselves.” 

“Don’t you agree with me? They-”

“I’ll go in my room. Enjoy your evening.”

“Kyungsoo?” A few seconds later, the sound of a door closing echoed in the flat, leaving the two friends in the kitchen on their own, surprised by Kyungsoo’s strange behaviour. Worry took over Chanyeol after sharing a glance with Lu Han, taken aback as much as him. He shrugged his shoulder and shook his head, gesturing that he wasn’t more aware than him of what had gotten into their friend.

Kyungsoo’s sudden confinement left the flat cold the rest of the evening, Lu Han and Chanyeol together on the couch while a drama played on TV, one Chanyeol abandoned watching once he lost the faith in the actor’s potential to be better in the course of the episodes. It was quite tragic, in Chanyeol’s eyes, that idols without any talent in acting could get major roles only because of their status while other exponentially more capable people than them, actual actors, could see the role slip past their fingers to amateurs for such unfair reasons. 

Chanyeol was about to enter his room when he saw light flowing under the door of Kyungsoo’s room. He glanced towards Lu Han, still sitting on the couch with his eyes glued to the TV, and took a few steps towards his other friend’s room. No noise could be detected. Chanyeol took a deep breath and knocked on the door. He opened it slowly, only his head going past the perimeter of the room. Kyungsoo was holding a book in his hands as he was sitting on his bed, back pressed against the wall and his pillow. “Can I come in?” Kyungsoo nodded, closed his book, putting it away, and watched Chanyeol as he entered and closed the door behind him. He placed his desk chair in front of Kyungsoo by the bed and took a seat. He fiddled with his fingers for a moment, not meeting eyes with his friend. He wasn’t sure what he wanted to say or ask, he had just entered the room on a whim.

“Why might I have the honour of your visit?”

“I’m…” Chanyeol’s hesitant eyes met Kyungsoo’s. He gulped while taking a closer look to his friend’s features. Something was definitely wrong with him. How could he have not noticed it earlier? “I’m sorry.”

“You did nothing wrong. There is nothing to apologise for. Lu Han went a bit overboard as usual, that’s all.”

“No, I mean… I’m sorry for not having noticed.” Kyungsoo looked perplexed for a moment, asking with his gaze for more elaboration on Chanyeol’s end. “What’s wrong, Soo?” Kyungsoo’s eyes widened in realisation, eyes staring straight into Chanyeol’s ones. At that moment, Chanyeol knew he had hit a spot. Something was definitely bothering him. “It’s fine if you don’t want to talk, but know that I’m worried about you. Is it, perhaps… linked to our conversation on the phone while you were in Tokyo?”

Time seemed to have stopped, a few seconds hanging in the air as Kyungsoo stayed motionless, eyes unreadable, until the dam broke. Kyungsoo’s shoulders slumped and Chanyeol thought he had hallucinated his friend’s eyes watering for a mere second. It was the time it took for Kyungsoo to temporarily recover from his small outbreak and avoid Chanyeol’s eyes, nodding slowly. Kyungsoo had never been one to openly talk about his emotions and struggles. To have been able to witness such vulnerability from the smaller man was enough to convince Chanyeol that something was most definitely weighing a ton on his shoulders. Chanyeol stood up and took a seat next to Kyungsoo instead, the latter giving space for Chanyeol by his side. Chanyeol circled his shoulders and slowly rubbed them, Kyungsoo resting his head in the crook of the taller’s neck. 

Chanyeol didn’t mind the shy and painful sniffles, intensifying the more he let it free from their cage, his t-shirt stained with Kyungsoo’s tears, the body shaking in his arms and the solid clutches pulling at his clothes. If anything, he was holding his tears. He was devastated to see his friend in such a state. 

“It must seem stupid to you that a thing like that can affect me so much,” a weak voice said, cracking the last words. 

“It is not stupid at all.” Chanyeol drew circles with his thumb on Kyungsoo’s arm, gently squeezing his body against his.

Kyungsoo distanced his face from Chanyeol’s neck and t-shirt, which was now a bit darker with wet spots from his tears. He rubbed his tears away with the back of his hand and sniffled, taking a moment to regulate his breathing. “I’m sorry-”

“Soo, it’s fine. It is totally fine.”

“I don’t know what got into me now.”

“What’s happening is normal; too much is on your mind. Too much is burdening you. You can share your burden, you know? Such a tiny body don’t have to bear everything on its own.” Kyungsoo hummed. They stayed silent for next minutes but Chanyeol didn’t mind; Kyungsoo could take the time he needed before opening up. He knew how hard it was for him in the first place to let his emotions out.

He didn’t know how much time had passed once Kyungsoo started to talk again, or how many times the latter had clutched and hugged his waist. Chanyeol could stay by his side all night long if needed. “I can’t quit the company. I… I don’t know what I should do.”

Chanyeol’s arm slid towards Kyungsoo’s neck, burying his fingers in his short strands, massaging his scalp. The smaller man leaned into his touch. “Do you think you have to quit the company?”

“I don’t know. Marketing is not for me, it has never been clearer than now. Meetings, talking about business, always finding ways to make money, to sign contracts, checking thousands of emails all the time, following Lu Han around because I’m affiliated to him and in charge of booking him with work is a hassle. Waking up in the morning while knowing how I’ll spend the day doing these things that don’t mean anything to me is becoming harder and harder every day.”

“What would interest you then?”

“If only I knew, I wouldn’t be as stressed.”

Chanyeol hesitated, wondering if bringing the question he had mind would open old scars that never properly healed, but opted to voice his thoughts out. He might not stumble upon the chance of talking about it again. “Do you regret having quit ice hockey?” His voice had sounded weaker and more hesitant than he would have liked, but Kyungsoo had definitely heard it loud enough to stiffen in his arms. It was just as Chanyeol had suspected; Kyungsoo wasn’t over it yet.

“More than that, I regret having obeyed to my parents’ desires. I thought that making my parents happy would make me happy as well. I was completely wrong. Maybe things would have been better if I would have followed your step in becoming a professional ice hockey player. But it’s too late now. I skipped my one and only chance to be an athlete. I can’t rewind time.”

“Kyungsoo-”

“It’s alright. I’ll grieve it someday, maybe once I’ll find another passion.”

Chanyeol was immensely saddened by Kyungsoo’s feelings. It had been a blow for everyone when he announced the team that he was quitting ice hockey in his senior year in high school. Nobody could phantom the fact that one their best players, they captain, was retiring. Chanyeol and Lu Han hadn’t made a big deal over it, accepting his decision while knowing how strict Kyungsoo’s parents were. Chanyeol had pursued his career as an athlete in college while Lu Han had decided to study in his true passion; graphic design. But Kyungsoo had never been able to forget his passion and exaltation for the sport. It was truly revolting to see one of his best friends take such decisions, a route that had been imposed on him by his parents.

“Thank you, Chanyeol. Really, thank you.”

Chanyeol spent the night in Kyungsoo’s room, both friends in each other’s arms under the blankets, basking in each other’s warmth in the safety of their emotions and mutual understanding. Sometime in the very early morning, Kyungsoo found himself sandwiched in between Chanyeol and Lu Han, the latter having joined them and squeezed himself a place under the covers. Chanyeol was convinced he had heard sobs when he had felt shuffling and movement on the bed. It was only a matter of time until Kyungsoo would find his path, the one that was the most faithful to himself, Chanyeol had faith in him. In the meantime, he would give him his entire support, and if Kyungsoo would need him as an anchor, he would readily take up that role.

o

_From: Kyungie_

_i’ll make yukgaejang tonight 14:49 pm_

If that wasn’t the most amazing text message he could receive after a long and tiring practice, Chanyeol didn’t know what would be. He could feel his mouth quickly fill with his saliva, his mouth watering at the mere thought of taking a spoonful of that soup. The word “yukgaejang” was enough to make him want to skip his one-on-one match with Sehun. Kyungsoo’s recipe was the best he had tasted so far.

_To: Kyungie_

_🤤🤤🤤🤤 16:32 pm_

_if only i could skip my practice i would 16:33 pm_

_please don’t let Han eat it all and save some_

_for me 🙏 16:33 pm_

“Hey, Yeol. Will you finally keep your promise of beating Sehun today or not?”

The whole locker was engulfed in laughter, Chanyeol detaching his eyes from his phone to frown at his fellow teammates finding Jongin’s question way too hilarious. He scanned the room and kicked the closest ice hockey player’s shin to him, offended. “I trusted you guys! How can you have such little faith in me?”

“If only it would be a matter of faith, you would have won twenty times by now.”

“For your information, last week it wa-”

“Yeah, yeah, you boasted enough about it, you had a tie. But Sehun still had the upper hand all the previous times.”

Jongdae patted his shoulder in fake concern while taking a seat next to him, “Work a bit harder and maybe you’ll beat him in two years.”

Chanyeol swatted his hand away, “Fuck off.” His reaction only enhanced the bursting of laughter in the lockers, Chanyeol shaking his head in disbelievement. 

Jongdae grinned even wider and glanced at Jongin, leaning down as he tied his shoes on the bench next to Chanyeol, drops of water from his shower dripping from his hair falling over the expense of his exposed arms. “What are you even doing here, Jongin? And you brought company?” Chanyeol hadn’t noticed, but next to Jongin stood Junmyeon, who had quietly stood motionless all the while, smiling as usual and waving at the athletes who greeted them back. Butterflies erupted in his stomach once Junmyeon’s orbs met his, the smaller man grinning, his eyes holding a softer gaze he missed as he averted his eyes in shyness.

“Jun and I were passing by and thought we could say hi and tease Chanyeol a bit.”

“You mean ridicule.”

“You got me.” Jongin made a thumbs up and winked mockingly, Chanyeol throwing his sweaty towel in the face with a perfect aim. Jongin’s thumbs up slowly turned into a middle finger, scrunching his face in disgust to add more impact to it. He threw the towel back at Chanyeol, the latter catching it with ease and chuckling. “Where is Sehun by the way?”

“Outside, speaking on the phone with his girlfriend.”

“Mmmm, I have a question concerning him though, but I’ll still ask you. Yeol, would you mind having spectators watching your duel tonight?”

Chanyeol furrowed his eyebrows, confused. “Spectators?”

“Yeah, Jun and I would like to watch you two, if we’re not intruding?”

“A figure skater is interested in ice hockey?”

Junmyeon, visibly not affected by one of Chanyeol’s teammate’s comment, nodded. “I am. And I’m curious about how you play your one-on-one matches.” Junmyeon’s statement froze Chanyeol in place. He had told him a couple of times about his duels with Sehun, had told a few anecdotes related to their past tournaments and although Junmyeon had been attentive and interested to all his story tellings, he wouldn’t have suspected that it would make him want to see them in action. The mere thought of Junmyeon watching him play made his stomach churn in nervousness. That added a whole other parameter he hadn’t been mentally prepared for.

“I thought you would look down on us,” Jongdae truthfully shared. “People often focus on the fights that occur rather than the sport in itself, saying it’s ‘violent’ more than anything else.”

“Seems like I’m not one of those people.”

“I respect that. And seriously, I respect figure skaters in what they do. I’m in no way flexible like you.”

Junmyeon chuckled, “You would just need some training.”

“Yeah, right. But I’m pretty sure you would struggle just as much in ice hockey. It’s way more difficult than it looks like.”

“Hey, that might sound crazy… But… How about you swap?”

Jongdae quirked an eyebrow at Jongin’s suggestion, unsure. “Swap? How?”

“Like, Junmyeon trains one of you, show you about figure skating or teach you a routine, and you show him how to play ice hockey?”

“What for?”

“I don’t know, for the sake of it? Or you could take that as a challenge?”

Jongdae’s interest was picked, eyeing the swimmer curiously. Chanyeol had a bad feeling about it. “A challenge?”

“Yeah, maybe something like… I don’t know… Ah! What if it would be some kind of showdown? The one who can’t do the other sport after the training would have to admit that it’s harder than his own sport and bow in respect.”

“That’s stupid-”

“That actually sounds interesting.”

All heads turned towards Junmyeon, suddenly the center of attention. Chanyeol could barely believe the words that had come out of his mouth. Jongdae, on the other hand, grinned. “Let’s give each other one week of training? And at the end we’ll do the showdown in front of the whole team.”

“Sounds good. I’ve been intrigued about ice hockey anyway so I’ll be glad to learn about it.”

“You can’t teach everyone though. Who will learn figure skating?” Silence followed Jongin’s question, no one budging a muscle. The ice hockey players eyed each other silently, waiting for a volunteer to show a sign, which didn’t appear would happen so soon. They continued to eye each other for a long and painful minute, which seemed to drag on for an eternity. Jongin sighed, “Come on, you guys were happy about the idea but no one dares doing it? What, you’re afraid to lose, not be able to do it? Or… You’re not as open minded as you pretend to be?” The response was dry, uncertainty tainting their orbs.

“What about Chanyeol do it?” A voice resonated through the lockers, making Chanyeol whip his head, eyes widening. 

He pointed a finger on his own chest, hesitant. “Who? Me?” He thought he had hallucinated until Jongdae joined his teammate, affirming that it was a bright idea. Chanyeol couldn’t comprehend what was ‘bright’ about it. “You’re all pricks if you’re choosing me because of my sexual orientation.”

“Why would it be because of that?”

“A man figure skating isn’t necessarily gay, you know?”

“Hey, Yeol, that’s totally not because of that. We’re not like your past teammates, we’ve been clear about that since day one.” Jongdae scooted closer to him, throwing his arm around his shoulders. 

However, Chanyeol found out a tad bit too late that he had been lured in a trap once Jongdae gave a light squeeze before throwing him out of the bench into a headlock, Chanyeol fighting against his friend’s strong grip. He succeeded in freeing himself only when he tapped in surrender on the floor, making Jongdae release his hold on him. Jongdae was smaller than him but his strength wasn’t something to underestimate. “What the fuck? Dae!” Chanyeol choked out, Jongdae chuckling loudly as a response, his cheerful laughter unable to make Chanyeol stop a smile from forming on his lips. Once their laughter died down, Jongdae first bumped Chanyeol, eyes as radiant as ever. They didn’t need to share a word to understand the meaning of their exchange. Chanyeol was grateful to have such great, warm hearted teammates.

“So I guess Chanyeol is taking the challenge?”

Chanyeol surrendered, throwing his head back as he was still sitting on the floor. “I guess I have no other choice.”

After a session of relaxing muscles, chatting and a fulfilling meal down their throat, Chanyeol and Sehun stood in the middle of the ice rink, equipment on and burning stares as they were about to start their duel. Chanyeol made his first movement to maneuver the puck, signaling that the face off started, attempting a faint that Sehun caught up with a tad bit too late, giving the green light for Chanyeol to advance on his rival’s territory. Chanyeol’s tricks didn’t last long before Sehun caught him and efficiently stole the puck away from him.

The first minutes were a mess on Chanyeol’s side. Although he attempted to ignore the unusual spectators on the benches, he couldn't shake off his distraction as he was hyper aware and self conscious that Jongin, and especially Junmyeon, were watching him. Sehun scored his first point soon after the start of their duel, Chanyeol barely registering it. Sehun shot the puck in his direction, gesturing him to start again, which lead to a second goal in a row from the captain. 

Sehun then became more brutal and active than usual, testing Chanyeol’s limits as he skated close to him, circling him and blocking every single one of his attempts at maneuvering the puck in his favour, pressing so close into his safe bubble that Chanyeol struggled to move. Chanyeol couldn’t suppress grunts from escaping his lips, getting more and more annoyed at how effectively his rival blocked his every move. He wasn’t even trying to steal the puck away from him, solely focused on pushing his buttons in the most irritating way. Sehun’s petty scenario only went on for a minute before Chanyeol’s last ounce of patience ran out, ramming Sehun against the protector glass forcefully. Chanyeol realised while catching a glance at Sehun’s victorious smirk that it was all part of his plan; riling him up. Chanyeol licked his lips and propped his chin up menacingly.

Chanyeol struggled against Sehun’s provoking stunts for a while before elbowing him regardless of it being forbidden in actual matches, sprinting towards Sehun’s net and aiming at the goal. Sehun’s eyebrows furrowed, defying, as he started with the puck next, Chanyeol’s attention fully on him. A newfound motivation to block him with all his might flooded his entire being.

And that’s exactly what happened for the rest of the match; Chanyeol’s ragged breathing pulsating strongly in his ears were the only thing he could hear, along with the aggressive sound of their blades colliding and sliding over the ice as he directed the entirety of his thoughts and movements with the goal in mind to beat the shit out of his cunning, irritatingly over confident captain, the latter spending the next hour provoking him with his confident eyes and smirks, the skillful stunts he teased him with making Chanyeol tone down his surroundings, absorbed in their game for the whole match. 

Chanyeol didn’t succeed in winning against his captain, but at least they ended with a tie for the second week in a row, an accomplishment in itself. Jongin and Junmyeon cheered loudly once the duel was over, the two exerted men sweating profusely as they emptied their bottle of water in record time. 

“That was fierce, you guys are beasts!” Jongin exclaimed, giving a hard pat on their backs. Chanyeol could barely reply, breathing so hard it took him a moment for his head to stop pounding.

“When was the last time you saw us play, Jongin?” Sehun asked, as breathless as Chanyeol.

“Mmmm, maybe two years ago? You went a long way ever since. You two are really impressive.”

Sehun smiled and mouthed a ‘thank you’ while catching his breath, regulating it progressively. Chanyeol felt a hand squeeze his shoulder, making his head turn in the direction of its source. Junmyeon was grinning, eyes sparkling in an emotion Chanyeol couldn’t decipher at that moment in his state of haze. He still managed to get a few words to roll off his tongue, “So, how was it? What do you think?”

Junmyeon’s response held no hesitation, “Jongin is right and it was interesting and fascinating to watch. I enjoyed it.” His hand still lingered on his shoulder and Chanyeol could feel his heart rate agitate a few beats quicker at the intensity his eyes held.

Another stretching session ensued while Junmyeon and Jongin chatted outside the perimeter of the lockers, the two teammates freshly showered as they completed their stretching in silence. The series of stretches blissfully relaxed Chanyeol’s sore muscles, the familiar pleasant burn making him sigh in satisfaction. Once they were done, they took their time putting their warm sweaters on, getting ready to finally leave the stadium they had spent the whole day in.

“I’m going to miss this.”

Chanyeol turned towards Sehun, who had the back of his head resting against the wall. He seemed thoughtful. “We can still continue our duels after the season.”

“No, I mean… I’m going to miss it here, playing with the team, teasing you on the rink, training with coach Il Seong. I’m going to miss everything, everyone.” Chanyeol hadn’t realised yet that it was his last season by Sehun’s side before he would join the Olympic team in Seoul. That fact is one Chanyeol hadn’t fully digested, the ice hockey player having focused all his energy on the tournament that was right at the corner. His heart stung at the thought of his team without his captain, at a future without Sehun, an irreplaceable member and valuable ace, but mostly a great friend that had shared so much by his side throughout a part of his career.

“I’m going to miss you too. We’ll be lost without you, and coach Il Seong will probably never get over it.”

“I’ve regarded him as a father figure since my first year in the team. I can’t imagine training without him, living in Seoul without his presence.” Sehun’s voice was the softest Chanyeol had heard, tainted with sorrow. He sounded fragile. “But the team will survive. They have you.”

Chanyeol startled by his captain’s exclamation, not expecting his sudden affirmation. Chanyeol chuckled mockingly, “I’m nowhere near your level. I could never replace you.”

“No one can be replaced, but you have what it takes to lead the team far. You’re the only one in the team that could manage having two ties in a row against me. Don’t underestimate yourself, Chanyeol. The team is in good hands with you on the boat.”

“Sehun-”

“Guys, are you ready or not? It’s getting late and I have a cat to feed!” Jongin’s voice interrupted the two men who bathed in each other’s company for a moment before getting up and exiting the lockers. They were greeted by Soon Hwa who had found them on her way out, the swimmer chatting animatedly with Junmyeon. Jongin sighed in relief and almost pulled them out of the stadium in a haste as he was turning impatient to finally go home after a long day of training. 

Sehun’s words echoed in Chanyeol’s head on his walk home, his heart clenching in the darkness of the night as his captain’s statement replayed like a mantra in his mind. Chanyeol had never really hung onto the idea of being promoted as the next captain in their team, but Sehun’s trust in him made him desire to take that position with more passion. 

He would miss Sehun just as strongly. But before that, he would make the best out of their last tournament in his company.

o

The next day, Chanyeol learned that he was definitely weak in the knees around Junmyeon. Quite literally. He had barely started to get used to the ice skates he rented from the arena that he fell on the ice at least four times while trying to do basic and camel spins and to do a figure he had already forgotten the name of, not to mention that he was still spent from his intense one-on-one match with Sehun the previous evening.

While seeing that Chanyeol was struggling a bit too much, Junmyeon decided that they would abandon the idea of executing the figure until he would be comfortable with the basics he showed him. He had the luck to meet the figure skater in the lockers room when he intended to train on his own, and now instead of wearing his equipment, he was wearing a pair of sweatpants and a long sleeves t-shirt that was a tiny bit too tight on him. He learned at the same occasion that Junmyeon was one size smaller than him. Chanyeol wasn’t too pleased about the forced outcome of losing precious time he could dedicate to hockey instead of figure skating, and for a very stupid reason at that -and he was victimized and dragged into it for no valid reason- but Junmyeon still wanted to stay true to his words, and so Chanyeol complied. And he had to admit that spending additional time with Junmyeon wasn’t anything to complain about.

Junmyeon’s skills as a teacher showed more than ever. However, he wasn’t as flexible as he had been the day he had assisted one of his classes. Chanyeol reasoned that it was because he was a professional athlete; Junmyeon could go deeper into his explanations and expectations. He was soft spoken, but strict. He didn’t take Chanyeol in pity at all even if he was still understanding.

Skating around the rink with a different pair of skates wasn’t so bad, but doing it elegantly was another story. Chanyeol was used to sprints, sudden stops, fast and hushed strides, but figure skating demanded precision, flexibility, graceful posture, footwork, and Chanyeol had lost the count of the number of times he had tripped because of the toe picks. Crossovers weren’t so bad, but it took a while before he got the hang of it. Junmyeon had showed him how to do turns too and Chanyeol’s brain refused at first to understand which foot did what and at which moment. 

But even while being strict, Junmyeon was nice. He was truly focused during the whole lesson and was encouraging, giving constructive criticism as well as very clear explanations and examples. And his eyes held a spark Chanyeol hadn’t witnessed before. He was taking a liking to this more serious and passionate side of Junmyeon, focused on passing on his knowledge about figure skating and guiding him with the best of his capacities. Junmyeon was truly a great teacher and while Chanyeol was nervous at first, he quickly got more comfortable around the figure skater, even if he was completely outside of his comfort zone.

And when they switched, warming up to different skates proved to be a much more difficult task for Junmyeon. Hockey ice skates’ blades are thinner than figure skating ones and it was a real challenge for the smaller man to stay up. Chanyeol also installed a couple of cones in the rink so Junmyeon could skate around them, eventually holding Chanyeol’s hockey stick while doing so, which was too long for the smaller man. Adding the puck was a very entertaining challenge. It also boosted Chanyeol’s confidence to see Junmyeon failing as much as him, if not even more. 

The way Junmyeon’s eyebrows and forehead furrowed in concentration while trying to handle the puck, his little huffs of annoyance when he was about to successfully control it but lost the puck with a single wrongly calculated movement, or when his eyes shined brightly when he was starting to get the hang of it, even if only for a mere instant; Chanyeol couldn’t tear his eyes off Junmyeon’s cute, endearing gestures. Moreover, the man, as Chanyeol was even more aware of than ever, was more stunning up close and at an arm's length. Chanyeol’s neck absolutely didn’t turn crimson at their occasional physical contact while giving explanations about postures and other specific indications.

And while watching Junmyeon focus on handling the puck in front of him, Chanyeol found himself being pulled towards the man and he couldn’t quite comprehend it. They had met roughly a month ago, they kept getting closer and bonding with each one of their interactions, but the more time passed, the more he couldn’t help but be nervous around him or restrain himself from checking him out. As he was getting to know Junmyeon’s multiple facets, he felt his capacities to control his racing heart lessen and his ability to keep his head cool diminishing drastically. He wasn’t sure if Lu Han’s words about Junmyeon being interested in him were playing tricks with his mind, if his friend’s constant teasing were getting into his head, but the figure skater’s gaze appeared to be more and more warm ever since Lu Han had pointed it out, even fond, dare he say. It was weird, holding eye contact with Junmyeon for a certain amount of time. Chanyeol felt as if he was staring straight into his soul. His eyes held incredible softness, but his gaze was also strong. 

But not only his eyes held incredible amount of emotions he couldn’t always distinguish, Junmyeon’s actions reflected it as well. The latter found joy in paying both of their bills whenever they would eat out together, although Chanyeol had succeeded on paying for the two on a few occasions. Junmyeon was also progressively initiating more physical contact, such as walking so close to him their shoulders brushed, to place his palm on the small on his back whenever they would come across crowded paths. Although there was a voice at the back of his mind that convinced him it was all the product of his active imagination and subconscious desires, Junmyeon’s kind and caring actions made Chanyeol combust internally each time nevertheless.

He felt vulnerable around him, felt his heart clench whenever he would learn something new about Junmyeon, like how he was allergic to shrimps, that his favourite season was spring, that he was fascinated by space and loved to stargaze once in a while. Chanyeol loved watching Junmyeon’s cheeks when he laughed, wanting to poke them at how soft they looked. He loved watching his mole right above his upper lip, or the one at the base of his neck, the one under his right ear, making him wonder if he had other moles as well. He adored his soft and sometimes loud, vibrant chuckles, his sense of humour that never failed to crack him up.

He usually had a liking to lean, feminine men, hence one of the reasons why he kept saying to his teammates that he has absolutely no interest in them in this way, and also because of their characters, although there was no offense in this fact. He just didn’t see them as more than teammates, friends to some extent, regardless of his promise to himself based on his past experiences. Junmyeon wasn’t like that from what he had seen of him so far. Maybe it was his delicate features that lured him in, although his body was quite contrasting, yet he wasn’t too muscular; he oozed masculinity and confidence, yet gentleness and calmness. His gaze held an intensity that captivated Chanyeol, just like his grace. He was the embodiment of perfection and Chanyeol was absolutely charmed by it.

“This is way harder than I thought it would be.” Junmyeon sighed, the puck sliding on the opposite direction he was intending to aim at. 

Chanyeol smiled, “It’s hard at first, but it’s not impossible with lots of practice.”

Junmyeon removed his helmet and ruffled his wet, slick hair, closing his eyes and leaning his head back for a moment while doing so, making Chanyeol gulp as his eyes were set on the figure skater’s neck, watching his adam’s apple bob and instantly locating his moles. How would he manage to teach Junmyeon for a whole week if the man himself was such a major source of distraction? Even while wearing all the protective pads and immense jersey he looked ethereal. “I think we should call it quits for today.” Chanyeol hummed in approval as he cleared his throat and attempted to direct his attention to something else, the clock being suddenly very interesting. His eyes widened when he realised it was already 11 am. They hurried outside of the rink and showered before Chanyeol’s practice, promising to meet the next morning as well.

o

"Fuck, fuck, fuck! I'm so fucking late!" Chanyeol sprinted around the lockers, hair still not dry from his shower after practicing with Junmyeon, wearing his equipment as fast as he could. It was his third day doing figure skating under his temporary trainer's care and it was way harder than he expected. While he was starting to maneuver the many different footworks required for skating in between figures and while turning the borders of the rink, it was a disaster when coming to jumps, spins and succeeding on doing the series of figures Junmyeon had showed him without being clumsy or jerky. Which explains why they ended their practice session later than planned, resulting in Chanyeol ordering food at a packed restaurant and running twenty minutes late for his team's practice. 

He was fucked.

His coach wasn’t pleased in the slightest when Chanyeol joined his teammates in the rink late. The whole team stayed thirty minutes more than scheduled to compensate for Chanyeol’s delayed arrival, making Chanyeol ashamed. He didn’t dare meet his teammates eyes, and his coach wasn’t in a great mood. The latter was even more ruthless than usual, pushing the team’s limits with every exercices, shouting remarks about how certain players could give much more, not uttering a word when they would take short intervals of break. The tension was so palpable it could be sliced in thin air. Not only the coach was extremely severe, but he was also particularly on Chanyeol’s heels. The latter played awfully that day. He lost his focus repeatedly, had considerable less stamina than usual and missed goals half of the time. Practice was hell.

But it didn’t stop there; the coach gave the tardy hockey player an addition of conditioning drills to do by himself, his other teammates leaving to mind their own duties, some of them throwing side glances at Chanyeol, either of frustration or pity. Chanyeol could barely meet Sehun’s eyes. Chanyeol had to do an exhausting series of six exercices three times. The exercices were lateral hops, blue line to blue line shoot the ducks, crunches, net dips, shuttle sprints and close grip push ups, repeated God knows how many times each. Chanyeol was a panting mess when he finally finished his three series under his coach’s hawk eyes, seated on the bench and emptying his water bottle in record time. His throat was dry, his hair completely damp mixed with his body’s sweat. He usually loved the smell of sweat and masculinity, of hard dedicated work while entering the lockers after a practice, but it was displeasing at that moment. He smelled like shame and insufficiency. 

“Chanyeol,” his coach called him, voice less strong than the entire practice session, yet firm.

“Yes, coach Il Seong?”

The coach sat next to the hockey player, silent for a moment before looking in the young adult’s eyes. Chanyeol was tempted to look away but kept the last bit of composure he had left. He couldn’t crumble pathetically because of one practice. “You must know that when one single player arrives late, the rest of the team is affected. And we have no time to lose before the tournament, we only have a week and a half left. We want to score high this year and I have faith in our team. Do you understand what I mean, Chanyeol?”

“Yes.”

“You have to take responsibility and you know it, we’ve been working together for three years already. We all have bad days, but we still have to give it our all. I hope you’ll pay attention for the remaining practice sessions. Taking care of your body is crucial, but you also have to beware of your mental health and moods.”

“Yes, I am sorry coach.”

“Alright. Now rest, son. Tomorrow we have a day off, you should spend it wisely and arrive refreshed in two days. I don’t like seeing you in that state.” He tapped the younger’s shoulder and walked towards the exit of the arena, leaving Chanyeol by himself, accompanied by his loud mind and his empty water bottle. 

Chanyeol sat still on the bench as his short and hushed breaths created barely visible clouds in the air, heart racing in his body, head thumping and eyes glossy of frustrated, restrained tears. He squeezed his water bottle and punched the glass protector. He then ruffled his hair dripping in shameful, disgusting sweat, sitting until he had enough and entered the rink again, growling as he started racing on his own around the rink, regardless of his legs voicing their discontentment. He hated to feel ashamed, to perform like an amateur and to pull his whole team down along with him because of his own flaws and mishaps. He hated to be looked down upon and to be a burden. He had worked so hard, fought so much in order to reach his goal of being a professional ice hockey player, to make it a career no matter how little encouragement he had from his peers yet he always made mistakes.

He tuned down his surroundings as he transferred his anger into his playing, racing around the cones left from their practice session and shooting the puck in the goals, repeating the actions over and over again until he was completely out of breath. He was so engrossed that he didn’t notice the presence entering the rink, a new figure standing by him after he had halted his goaling spree. “Can I join you?”

Chanyeol’s head turned to the side, surprised to see Junmyeon with his helmet in hand and a hockey stick in the other, wearing the ice hockey equipment he had rented. Chanyeol gazed in his eyes for a moment while wondering if he should leave instead, before nodding faintly, still struggling to breathe properly. After spending so much energy, his mind was completely blank, void of any thoughts and emotions. Junmyeon offered him a tiny smile and wore his helmet. “So, what are we starting with?”

Junmyeon proved to be more skilled than the first times. He was able to skate more comfortably than the previous days, although taming the puck was still difficult. Chanyeol was barely giving any advices or tricks in order to guide him; he was completely spent. He let Junmyeon practice on his own for a while when he exited the rink to refill his water bottle and stretch, clearing his mind a little bit at the same occasion, but after watching Junmyeon fail pathetically at controlling the puck and scoring as he observed him from the seats, he entered the rink again, an idea in tow at the back of his mind.

With a newfound spark and torments pushed at the back of his mind, he stole the puck from Junmyeon and goaled in a heartbeat. The figure skater looked at him, incredulous. Chanyeol then locked eyes with him, knowing fairly well he was acting on impulse, but he needed nothing else at that moment. He maneuvered the puck while rounding the clueless man before skating farther away and stopped right in front of him, throwing small particles of ice on Junmyeon’s legs and skates while doing so. 

The latter caught the train of Chanyeol’s thoughts and accepted his challenge while moving his stick a first time, failing at taking the puck away from the professional ice hockey player. Chanyeol then teased Junmyeon, manoeuvring the puck around him, skating in circles and feigning giving the green light for Junmyeon to steal it, but then dodging the inexperienced man’s movement by skating farther away, making Junmyeon chase him around the rink, Chanyeol watching with amusement his opponent’s reactions. The two men chased around each other for a while, Chanyeol baiting Junmyeon with a few tricks up his sleeves and the figure skater struggling to keep up with his speed and rapid, precise movements. 

Chanyeol was taken by surprise when Junmyeon harshly bumped him against the glass protector, making Chanyeol jolt as Junmyeon skated away with the puck, clumsily shooting it towards the goal but missing it with a bad aim, with what Chanyeol guessed as being a rushed move because Junmyeon seemed quite excited to have finally been able to get the puck for the first time, a mistake since Chanyeol fervently skated towards the puck when he regained his composure. Junmyeon’s eyes were set on the puck as well, skating as fast as he could towards it, but as soon as the figure skater seized the puck with his stick, Chanyeol bumped his shoulder back, making Junmyeon ram against the glass protector rather forcefully. Chanyeol got worried for an instant, forgetting he was against a beginner and wondering if he had hit him too hard, but Junmyeon recovered at record speed and took Chanyeol’s ultimatum to his advantage. He stole the puck away from him and attempted a second goal, which was missed, the aim even more awful than the previous one.

They played cat and mouse for a while, Junmyeon eventually managing to aim at the goal a few times even if none of his shots were successful, trying to keep up with Chanyeol and the latter teasing him as much as he could, relishing in the blood pumping wildly in his veins and the challenging, determined looks Junmyeon gave him. Chanyeol scored one last time before both men collapsed over the ice, arms and legs spread like stars. After taking fast, ragged breaths, Junmyeon started to chuckle before laughing loudly, the lovely and lively sound echoing in the empty rink. Chanyeol observed Junmyeon, absorbed by his beautiful, joyful laugh, his eyes forming cute crescents, his cheeks reddened by their intense game, lips glistening with sweat and curving in pure delight. He didn’t notice his lips were curving upwards as well until small chuckles rolled off his tongue uncontrollably, quickly turning into full on laughing, both men’s voices singing in harmony. Chanyeol didn’t know why he was laughing, but Junmyeon’s contagious laugh tingled his heart, warmth spreading across his chest. 

Chanyeol’s insides twisted in pain, mixed from both too much exercise and laughing. He couldn’t remember the last time he laughed as hard. He removed his helmet and put his head over the ice, enjoying the source of cold against his scalp, cooling his flaming skin. His laughter diminished until it finally ceased, Junmyeon mirroring his action and wiping his teary eyes. “Wow. That was quite a game.”

Chanyeol smiled, “Yeah.” He turned his head towards Junmyeon laying next to him, watching him as his laugh died down as well, eyes directed at the ceiling and hair stuck to his forehead dripping on the ice. “You’re better than I could have imagined. Although there’s still a lot of work to do.”

Junmyeon’s gaze then met his, Chanyeol’s cheeks reddening a tad bit darker. Junmyeon’s smile was blinding. “I can’t count the number of times I tripped.”

The ice hockey player chuckled, “Anybody else wouldn’t have been able to trick me well enough to steal the puck with such little experience. And your goals were getting better towards the end.”

“You’re too nice.” Chanyeol got lost in Junmyeon’s eyes for the millionth time, heart showing no signs of calming down. The more he observed the colour of his eyes, the more he noticed faint shades of browns, even if barely noticeable. They were absolutely beautiful. 

Junmyeon then directed his eyes at the ceiling, taking a deep breath and still smiling widely. “You know, I don’t really care about the dare anymore. It’s just fun to learn about a sport I know nothing about.”

“The dare was stupid anyway.”

“Yeah, and I still don’t know why I accepted it.”

“Regretting it already?” Chanyeol teased, with a hint of playfulness in his tone.

“Not one bit. It makes me spend more time with you.”

Chanyeol almost choked when Junmyeon gazed at him with a smile tugging at his lips, eyes sparkling with a beauty Chanyeol could only describe as ‘out of this world,’ for a lack of proper vocabulary. He had to avert his eyes in order to spare his heart from hammering to death, but he couldn’t detach his gaze from the charming figure skater. He had no idea why or how come one single glance from Junmyeon made him feel such things. He had never quite experienced anything similar before, and so he found himself completely defenseless in front of the attractive, intriguing man.

“Why ice hockey out of all sports? And as a career?”

Junmyeon’s question took Chanyeol off guard, a question he himself had never truly reflected about. People would sometimes ask him these questions, but he never knew how to answer them and this instance wasn’t any different. Chanyeol took a moment to think about it as he stared at the ceiling absentmindedly, recalling his first contact with skating and ice hockey. “I don’t know? It just happened.”

“I get what you mean in a sense, but wasn’t there any triggering points or anything?”

“Not that I’m aware of? When I was a kid, we played field hockey during P.E. and recess. Later on, my dad brought me and my mom to an arena for fun and we took the habit of going there afterwards. Skating led to me bringing my friends to the arena too and we somehow started playing games and when we stayed one evening to watch the youth’s ice hockey team practice, we wanted to try playing it and one thing led to another. I joined my high school’s ice hockey team when I was good enough and I’ve been playing ice hockey ever since.”

“And what about it as a career choice?”

“Ice hockey has always been liberating to me. It was a way for me to get some steam off and one day while studying for Suneung, I realised I just couldn’t imagine myself doing something else in my life. I guess that’s when I understood that ice hockey was a passion more than just a hobby or a way to throw piled up stress or emotions.” Junmyeon nodded. “How about you?”

The figure skater smiled. “When I watched a figure skating competition on TV for the first time, I was about six, seven years old? I was really stunned. My family found it cute when I asked ice skates as a birthday present. They registered for me to take skating classes, registering my sister at the same time.” Junmyeon chuckled, turning nostalgic for a moment as he seemed to recall specific memories before his expression turned a bit darker. “We learned to skate together, my sister and I. We both took figure skating classes seriously and she encouraged me a lot when I was made fun of by my classmates. A boy doing figure skating was an easy target. I grew out of it rather quickly after a couple of years when I entered my first ice skating competition. I participated with my sister and we performed as a couple. We didn’t win, but we had a blast. We participated in a few competitions together until she started dating another figure skater. The two then started skating in couple, leaving me on my own. I was twenty one at that time. And they are still a lovely couple, in both their lives and figure skating even if more than ten years have passed.”

“How was it? It must have felt weird to go from couple to solo skating.”

“It was. Although I have always enjoyed figure skating on my own. But I soon discovered that I wasn’t made for the stage. Regardless of me having skated for years together with my sister, the spotlight was never something for me. I am way too stressed out whenever I perform in front of a public. I still blame myself for having made my sister and I lose most of the competitions we participated in. If it wouldn’t have been for me not being able to calm down, have composure and total control of my movements, enjoy the present while skating in front of a public, our fate would have been very different.”

Junmyeon’s eyes were still directed at the ceiling, his face holding an expression he had never seen on the other man before. Junmyeon was vulnerable in front of him for the first time. “Do you like teaching?”

His head turned towards him as he smiled, nodding slowly, eyes showing a fragility that moved Chanyeol. “Yes, I really do. Teaching makes me happy. I don’t regret having taken that path.” They looked at each other silently for a while before Junmyeon sat on the ice, facing his back to Chanyeol. They stayed quiet for a moment, Chanyeol not wanting to interrupt what felt like an intimate moment Junmyeon had with himself, caught in his own thoughts. Chanyeol wondered at that moment what had happened in the other man’s life that could have shaken him as much. Learning about Junmyeon’s every facet; Chanyeol found himself wanting to get to know Junmyeon better, deeper.

“Are you feeling better now though?”

Junmyeon’s eyes met his as he turned his head around, and Chanyeol wasn’t sure what he meant. He gazed at him in confusion as he sat up as well. “Me? Feeling better?”

“I saw you and your coach training alone in the rink earlier.”

“What? You saw us?!”

He scratched his left ear and smiled apologetically, Chanyeol looking at him with wide eyes. “I was getting ready to train in the rink, since your team practice was supposed to be over, but when I entered the place, I heard loud voices and I saw you getting an earful.”

Chanyeol groaned and flopped back down on the ice, hands covering his face that had turned crimson red by embarrassment. “Fuck, that was so humiliating.” 

Junmyeon chuckled when Chanyeol peeked in between his spread fingers and brought them back together like a child when their eyes met, hiding from Junmyeon’s gaze. “You’re cute.”

“I- I’m not! I’m-”

“Alright, alright, I get it, mister manly, ice hockey player,” Junmyeon exclaimed while chuckling a bit more, getting up on his skates and dusting off the sprinkles of ice on him. “I think it’s enough for today. Should we get changed?”

Chanyeol only opened his eyes again when he heard Junmyeon’s ice skates heading farther away. He got up as well, still fully embarrassed, and joined him, both men going to the changing room and stretch. When the hot water came in contact with Chanyeol’s skin, he realised how badly he needed it. He took his sweet time in the shower, plunged into the incredible warmth and comfort it gave, relaxing his muscles and making him feel in total bliss, eyes closed when facing the spray tub, enjoying the feeling of the drops of water falling and sliding down his face, washing his soreness away. He heard Junmyeon say something along the lines of having forgotten something in the rink and returning back soon during his shower, and Chanyeol only hummed in response as he decided to make his shower longer than usual. Once his hair and body were clean, he turned the tub off and dried himself off before putting his clothes on. Junmyeon’s belongings were still in the locker when Chanyeol left, making him wonder what was taking Junmyeon so long. When he opened his phone in order to contact him, he had a notification from his flatmate.

_From: Kyungie_

_just arrived with Han at home,_

_are you having dinner with us? 06:29 pm_

He glanced at the time on his phone and scratched his head. If he would leave now, he could make it in time.

_To: Kyungie_

_sorry i’m only seeing your message now 07:04 pm_

_if you haven’t eaten yet i’ll join you guys, leaving in_

_a few 07:05 pm_

He almost instantly received a reply.

_From: Kyungie_

_okay, we’ll wait 07:05 pm_

_Han says you should get your ass here quickly_

_the fat ass can’t wait to eat any longer 07:06 pm_

Chanyeol chuckled and texted a quick ‘ok, later’ before heading towards the fountain to refill his water bottle. When he heard chuckles, he turned his head to the side and caught a glimpse of Junmyeon chatting with Soon Hwa, the swimmer handing him a bottle of water and standing quite close to him, their gazes soft as they talked. It’s only then that Chanyeol remembered how they seemed close and to get along well when he had seen them chat after his match with Sheun, images of that moment appearing in his mind. 

He was too far away to hear them, but he was suddenly hit with disappointment. How come he hadn’t considered that Junmyeon might not reciprocate his feelings? After all, he still had no evidence that he liked men, not having the courage to ask him and their conversations not leading to that topic either. Now that he was observing them, they did look compatible. Soon Hwa was gentle and sweet, she had a heart of gold. She would complement Junmyeon well. Maybe he had kept his hopes and fantasies too high up. He wanted to blame Lu Han for it, but it would be hypocritical of him; despite his doubts over his love interest being mutual, he still believed in a chance, no matter if slim, that Junmyeon might have held similar feelings for him. Once Soon Hwa walked away and that his gaze met Junmyeon’s, he swallowed the lump in his throat, uncomfortable. Junmyeon, seemed to have noticed the change in Chanyeol’s behaviour but didn’t comment on it.

The walk towards the lockers was awkward, to say the least. Neither of them said a word and Chanyeol was highly uncomfortable, avoiding eye contact with the figure skater as the atmosphere had completely shifted. He waited in the lockers when Junmyeon stretched and took a shower, even if very much tempted to run away. Was Junmyeon going out with Soon Hwa? It wasn’t a possibility to discard. But why would Junmyeon be so caring with him? Why would he keep sending him signals that he would potentially be interested in him? Maybe Lu Han’s words, and dare he admit his own hope and desires, had affected Chanyeol too much. It was possible that he was off the mark.

He couldn’t dwell for long since Junmyeon was ready to leave in no time. Chanyeol was about to get up from the bench and to put his sweater on until Junmyeon’s hand stopped him from doing so, putting his hand on his left arm. He took Chanyeol’s sweater, put it on the bench and settled his hands on both of the ice hockey player’s shoulders. Chanyeol stared wide eyed at him, confused at his sudden actions. He then felt Junmyeon’s palms apply pressure on his shoulders as he started rubbing his muscles slowly with his thumbs, his whole hands following. Chanyeol’s heart stopped at the same time as his breathing when Junmyeon’s hands progressively came closer to his neck, massaging slowly every inch his hands came in contact with. 

It was very soothing, so soothing Chanyeol closed his eyes unknowingly and let out a sigh, letting out the breath he was holding. He sighed again when Junmyeon released a knot on his right shoulder and shuddered when he felt a puff of hot hair on his forehead coming from Junmyeon facing him, whose head was a few centimeters above his.

“Your shoulders and neck are very tense.” Another puff of hot hair tickled Chanyeol’s cheeks, goosebumps showing their contentment. Junmyeon’s warm, soft hands moved and massaged his bare neck, making very slow circles with just the right amount of pressure. “I keep telling you that your shoulders are stiff when I teach you and as I expected, it’s not just because of struggling to loosen up; your muscles are having a hard time loosening up too.”

Chanyeol opened his eyes and was greeted by dark, chocolate brown orbs staring right at him. He observed his features once more, this time closer than he had ever seen them. Junmyeon’s face still had a rosy taint from his practice and the hot shower he had taken. His stomach threatened to release an explosion of tingles. And holy fucking hell, if Junmyeon’s caring, gentle gaze could have powers, it would have burnt Chanyeol to ashes by the intensity of it. And his smile, his soft touches, his beautiful face; Junmyeon was a work of art, complemented with an absolutely sweet personality. It was a miracle Chanyeol hadn’t combusted. It was way too hot for his liking and his heart would truly give out if Junmyeon would keep such a gaze for longer. 

“I like men.” Chanyeol’s ears flared a burning red after the words rolled off Junmyeon’s tongue. “Caution, your neck is tensing again,” he added lightly, smiling at the sight of Chanyeol’s wide eyes and the red tainting his skin. Chanyeol swore his eyes would pop out of their sockets and that the volcano erupting in his insides would skin him alive. He must have heard him wrong. 

Junmyeon’s palms went from his neck to his shoulders again, still massaging it as he continued to speak, “I like men who are kind, who support their friends and family dearly. I like men who aren’t afraid to take on challenges, men that can make me laugh, who take care of themselves and others. I like men who can make me feel at home.” Chanyeol’s ragged breathing made Junmyeon’s task of loosening his muscles difficult, the latter adding more pressure as he rubbed circles on his shoulders. Chanyeol gripped Junmyeon’s t-shirt by the waist tightly, air escaping his lungs irregularly. Junmyeon’s voice went a decibel lower, “I like a man who plays ice hockey, who grew up in Busan, who was kind enough to give me a car ride on a rainy, stormy day. I like a man whose being I can’t take my attention and eyes off. I like a man that has one of the kindest heart I know and a breathtaking, stunning personality paired with an as magnificent exterior.”

Chanyeol finally gave himself away and relaxed his muscles. Junmyeon hummed once he sensed the shift in the taller’s muscles, making Chanyeol shiver at the mere sound reverberating through his spine, and his hands went up his neck again. Chanyeol felt like melting. Junmyeon’s hands were doing a heavenly job on his sore muscles, and his words made his heart dangerously swell. At that moment, he knew he was head over heels.

“Were you thinking that Soon Hwa and I are dating earlier?” Chanyeol gulped, knuckles suddenly clutching Junmyeon’s t-shirt so hard they turned white. He nodded slowly, their gazes never detaching from each other. “I have no romantic interest in her. I like you, Park Chanyeol.” 

Chanyeol let out a shaky breath when he saw that Junmyeon’s face was closer to his now, his heart threatening to burst and pulsating so strongly in his ears he was afraid he wouldn’t be able to hear Junmyeon speak. He inched his face even closer to Chanyeol’s, who couldn’t tear his gaze away from the smaller man’s mesmerizing ones. Junmyeon brushed his nose against his, lips ghosting over Chanyeol’s, and closed his eyes. It was only a matter of seconds before Chanyeol would faint. Junmyeon’s palms rose higher, hands behind his ears, massaging it lightly as he pulled Chanyeol’s head up, even if only slightly, with his thumbs on his cheeks, caressing the skin delicately. He dragged them dangerously slowly over his lower lip with a soft, feathery touch, leaving Chanyeol even more breathless, before gently pressing his lips on his.

The kiss was slow, gentle, and Junmyeon’s lips were even softer than he had imagined them to be. Chanyeol’s hands loosened their hold on his t-shirt, placing them on his waist instead and pulling him closer. Junmyeon’s hands cupped his cheeks, fingers behind his head and digging into his locks as their lips moved together, pulling away for a second before Junmyeon’s tongue grazed his lower lip, coaxing Chanyeol’s tongue once he gave permission. Chanyeol’s hands slowly climbed Junmyeon’s back and pressed it against his chest, his heart beating as fast as when he’s racing on the ice, hitting his chest so hard he had no doubt that Junmyeon could feel it.

Chanyeol couldn’t believe it; Junmyeon had declared that he liked him and was kissing him. He savoured it as much as he could, kissing him back with delicacy, memorizing the feeling of Junmyeon’s back under his fingertips, gliding them over the whole expense of it. Once they pulled away, they stayed motionless for an instant, breathing softly. It took a moment for Chanyeol to come down from his haze, deeply infatuated by Junmyeon’s whole being. Junmyeon put distance between them and gazed into Chanyeol’s glazed eyes. His hand pulled Chanyeol’s strands behind his ears, goosebumps dancing on the athlete’s skin, “Would you go on a date with me if I win the dare?”

Chanyeol intook a deep breath, stunned by the question. His mouth hung open, alternating between closing and opening in an attempt to give a proper reply, a task that was much more difficult to do with his body and brain mushy from Junmyeon’s unexpected actions. “I… I-”

“Or maybe you don’t want to?”

“No! Ah! I mean- Yes! Fuck!” Junmyeon watched the taller man’s struggle with amusement, smiling fondly as Chanyeol stuttered, different vowels clumsily rolling off his tongue while trying to find his words. “I- I would love to go on a date with you. I would love to go out with you, that’s what I meant.” 

Chanyeol was convinced that Junmyeon’s chuckle could cure diseases. Junmyeon’s knuckles brushed his cheeks while he gifted him one of his brightest smiles, making Chanyeol’s insides melt. “You’re cute when you blush.” Junmyeon’s words only deepened the taint of red colouring his neck, or more precisely his entire face. He wanted to hide in embarrassment. 

Junmyeon put on his own coat, Chanyeol taking a second to awake from his daze, completely fazed. It’s only when Junmyeon looked at him, amused, that Chanyeol noticed he was staring at him. He coughed and put his sweater on, the two men then walking together and exiting the stadium. Junmyeon turned around and held Chanyeol’s hands in his, linking their fingers. “Thank you. For today. It was really fun, playing ice hockey with you, talking.”

“I had a good time too.” Chanyeol smiled and tentatively squeezed Junmyeon’s fingers laced with his, instantly rewarded with a breathtaking smile from the latter. “And, truthfully… It’s been a long time since I’ve played on the rink just for fun. I’m so used to practice almost too automatically that I sometimes forget how much I enjoy skating in itself. Playing with you today was really great and freeing. It made me feel much better. Thank you, Junmyeon.”

That was it; Junmyeon’s laugh resonated and squeezed Chanyeol’s heart and soul with it. “Me too.” He then brought Chanyeol’s hand to his mouth and kissed the back of his hand, making Chanyeol’s blush instantly creep back in his cheeks. He wouldn’t survive a lifetime in his company. “See you tomorrow, Chanyeol.”

They left reluctantly, both men going their own way. When Chanyeol arrived at his front door, he remembered that Kyungsoo and Lu Han were waiting for him to have dinner and that he hadn't notified them about his tardiness.

He was fucked. Again. Today was not his lucky day. And his heart was still racing a marathon and pulling his feelings around like waves at the thought of an ethereal figure skater, the ghost of Junmyeon's touches on his skin engraved in his memory.

He hadn’t said it, but even if Junmyeon would fail the dare, he would still go on a date with him.

o

Sunlight poured into the bedroom, peering in between the blinds and providing warmth in the rather chilly early November day. Chanyeol, spread on his bed, groaned once rays of sun hit his closed eyelids, progressively coming back to his senses. He was blinded at his first attempt to open his eyes, making him squint and rub them while turning on his back. A loud yawn escaped his lips, his eyes getting watery by the action. He managed to find a blind spot shielded from the aggressive sunlight and slowly opened his eyelids, groggy. He had to blink a couple of times before fully being adjusted to the brightness of his bedroom. He stretched his limbs, bones popping and muscles sore as he closed his eyes again, dozing off being a very tempting option.

However, his eyes snapped back open when he realised he had no idea what time it was. He sat up on his bed in a single, rapid movement, his body protesting at the suddenness and his head a second away to turn dizzy. He quickly took his phone that was fully charged on his bedside table and almost got a stroke when he saw that it was already passed 11 am. He had to eat and head towards the arena as quickly as possible. After his mistakes yesterday, he couldn’t afford to mess up a second time. Especially not twice in a row.

He quickly wore a pair of sweatpants and the first t-shirt his eyes located, which happened to be plain white with a red stain on it. He silently cursed Eleanor’s name for ‘accidentally’ staining it with the ketchup that had spilled while she was finishing her fries when they watched the movie she had brought a few days prior. He then combed his hair with a few brushes, noticing at the same time that his pastel vintage rosé coloured hair was starting to decolour a tiny bit lighter than the initial tone. Once he entered the kitchen, he was greeted by his two flatmates, accompanied by an invader he had just cursed a moment earlier.

“Good morning, sleeping beauty,” Eleanor exclaimed from the kitchen table, half a donut on her plate, the other in her mouth. 

“I swear, you’ll get fat one of these days if you don’t stop eating sugary things three times a day.” 

The woman only stuck her tongue out, remnants of the donut still on it. Chanyeol sighed and walked in urge towards the fridge, taking his protein shake out and mumbling under his breath when noticing there wasn’t much left. He wouldn’t have the time to make more of it. Kyungsoo, sitting across Eleanor with a coffee in hand, looked at him warily. “Yeol, why are you in a hurry? You don’t have practice today.”

Chanyeol spun around, “What? But we’re Thursd-” he stopped mid-sentence once he realised which day it was. Thursday was his team’s day off. How could he have forgotten? Chanyeol released a long, deep breath while leaning his head back on the door of the fridge. That was probably the best news of the day.

“You forget your dear friends for dinner _and_ you forget when your days off are? Did you get hit in the head during practice?” Lu Han asked, slouched on the couch lazily as he zapped the channels on the TV.

“If I would have remembered, I would have slept for longer. What are you three doing here anyway?” 

“El has no students today, and Han and I are taking the day off they had promised to give us once we came back from the trip but still made us work. We have a four days weekend, like we mentioned yesterday.”

“I’m telling you, he got hit in the head during practice. He was completely off last night when he returned.”

Chanyeol sat in front of Kyungsoo, the smaller man giving him a curious look. Chanyeol contemplated whether going to the gym either way but decided against it once he felt how sore he was. He was used to being spent, but he could feel that he would push his limits a tiny bit too far if he would train today. The kind of soreness he felt in his muscles weren’t like the usual healthy and relieving ones. He knew when not to push and when it smelled dangerous. It seemed he would have to take it easy today. However, his shoulders and neck weren’t as stiff as the past days. 

While rolling his shoulders, content about the pain coming from the knots that had been set loose, the previous evening’s events replayed in his mind for the hundredth time; fooling around with Junmyeon in the rink, the smile adorning the figure skater’s lips, the melodious laugh resonating in his head, his soothing voice, the revelations they had shared about their passion, his strong yet gentle, warm hands massaging his muscles, his neck, the thumbs grazing his cheekbones and the corner of his lips, his kiss.

“Red doesn’t suit you.” 

“Huh?” Chanyeol only realised his heart rate had escalated when Eleanor spoke and when his voice was caught in his throat, his reply sounding more like a muffled, barely audible sound, making Kyungsoo and Lu Han stare at him as well. Chanyeol gulped the remnants of his drink and tried to ignore the pulsation against his chest and his clammy hands, a sensation that hadn’t left him when he returned home last night either when he couldn’t stop thinking about Junmyeon all evening.

Chanyeol got up from his seat and headed towards the sink. He turned the tap on and proceeded on washing the dishes his flatmates had left in it. “What’s his name?” 

He almost dropped the bowl in his hands. He could feel the blood rushing towards his head, hands slightly trembling and face starting to get hot. “Wh- What do you mean?” He mentally scolded himself for his weak response to Eleanor’s question, voice unnaturally more high pitched than usual. 

“The name of the reason you’re red like a tomato,” she continued. Chanyeol could see her smirk in his mind. The woman was childish but she was too observant and cunning for her own good.

“There’s nothing like that-”

“We can see your ears flaming red from here, you know?”

He was about to retort back when Lu Han’s cell phone blared, Chanyeol sighing in relief. Maybe this would save him from the woman’s grasp. Lu Han groaned, a low ‘fuck’ going past his lips, and answered the call, heading to another room and leaving Chanyeol with Kyungsoo and Eleanor. And here he thought the call would have saved him; now he was alone with the duo. He could see his doom knocking at the door, no possibility of running away from it. But he wouldn’t give up just yet. Maybe once, just this once, he could avoid it just fine.

“Come on, Yeol, it’s obvious.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“The only other times I saw you beet red like that was when you were dating my brother and your boyfriends after him. You can’t fool me. What’s the name of the man making you look like a teenage girl in love?”

“Maybe it’s just hot in here. We should turn the heater off-”

“Is it Sehun? He’s hot, can’t deny it. And he has a great ass.”

Chanyeol turned around, eyes wide in shock. “Sehun?! No way! I don’t see him that way! Did you know that he’s been dating for two years? With a woman? And he isn’t my type! Junmyeon is not like-”

“Junmyeon, eh? Pretty name.”

Kyungsoo, who was disinterested all the while, raised an eyebrow, suddenly more attentive to the conversation. Eleanor smiled cheekily and Chanyeol’s neck turned darker, matching his ears and cheeks. ‘Way to go’, he said to himself. The woman had the natural born talent to squeeze any juicy information from him. He hated that about her. Maybe she really did have a sixth sense. Or Chanyeol just couldn’t hide anything from anyone.

“These two met again last night,” Kyungsoo smiled.

“He has a secret lover or something?”

“More like a huge crush. You should see them, they are head over heels for each other.” Lu Han stepped inside the kitchen, wearing a light brown coat, his working bag containing his drafts in hands. “He came back home yesterday late because of supplementary practices. He told us about a dare his teammates dragged him in. He has to teach a certain figure skater named Junmyeon how to play ice hockey and Yeol has to be taught how to figure skate in a week.”

“A figure skater as a new trainer?” Eleanor smirked. Doom had officially entered and Chanyeol had no way around it.

“Yeah. And coincidentally, his face was as red as today and he wouldn’t give much details about it. I would like to investigate more with you, El, but I’ve been called to work.”

“Work? Didn’t we both get our days off approved?” Kyungsoo asked. Chanyeol closed the tap as he finished washing the dishes, hoping he could sneak out of the kitchen while they were distracted by Lu Han.

“Apparently not for me. And I thought I could finally have a day for myself. The joy.” Lu Han sighed, and reached the door, opening it before greeting them and heading off.

“I guess we’ll order takeout from his favourite restaurant to cheer him up tonight.”

Kyungsoo nodded in approval. Chanyeol thought it was a good timing for him to leave the kitchen but couldn’t take a single step that Eleanor already intercepted him. “Are you two dating?”

Chanyeol coughed, almost choking on his saliva. “Well...” he rubbed hair in nervousness and his voice shrinked, “Maybe?”

“Holy fucking shit! I want details! Since when? How is he? Tall? Short? Muscular?”

“Not telling.”

“Party pooper.”

“He’s a professional figure skater, a new professor at the stadium. He’s smaller than Chanyeol, muscled but not too much. He’s very nice. I approve of him as boyfriend material for Yeol.” 

Chanyeol looked at Kyungsoo, betrayal oozing out of him. Kyungsoo only shrugged while Eleanor’s grinned was so wide it reached her ears. “That’s adorable! Why didn’t you tell me about him before?! I’m offended!”

“I have no obligation to do so and I knew you would blow it out of proportions. And we’re not officially dating yet...” Chanyeol admitted.

“Officially? What does that mean?” 

Chanyeol looked sceptic, but Eleanor ushered him to give the scoop she was craving for. “He… He asked me out yesterday. But we’ll go out only after the dare, and…”

“And what? Did you kiss??”

Chanyeol’s blush creeping up the tip of his ears was enough of an answer for Eleanor who squealed in joy. “Oh my god! You kissed!! Chanyeol! It’s been ages since you’ve dated and fell in love! I’m soooo happy for you! Do you have pictures of him?”

“El, please!” Chanyeol pleaded, but Eleanor was unstoppable, ordering him to hand his phone, which she snatched with vigour before opening his gallery.

“Where the fuck are they- Ah! Is that him?!” She showed the cell phone to him, and effectively, the photo was one they had taken about two weeks ago when they had gone mountain biking together. The couple were are the peak of the mountain they had ridden on their bikes, grinning proudly in front of the beautiful view. She put the photo on full screen, turning it horizontally on the table to get a panoramic view. Kyungsoo got up and stood before Eleanor, Chanyeol biting his lower lip in nervousness. He scooted closer as well and once his eyes were set on the man making the butterflies in his stomach go wild, he couldn’t detach his gaze from the screen. Junmyeon’s grin in this photo was as bright as he remembered it to be. Memories of their mountain biking trip flooded his mind, Chanyeol not able to hide a smile curling his lips.

“Not bad, he’s quite good looking,” Eleanor elbowed Chanyeol’s ribs playfully. ‘Good looking’ were too weak of words to describe Junmyeon, Chanyeol thought. “Look, he’s already whipped.”

“Fuck off, El.” Chanyeol masked his embarrassment by elbowing her back in the ribs, Eleanor only laughing as she shot comments about Junmyeon, finding too much uncontained enjoyment as she swiped and found a few more photos of the two men and enjoying Chanyeol’s reactions she qualified a being ‘very entertaining.’ 

Suddenly, a notification under the name ‘Myeon’ popped up. Eleanor threw him a knowing look and opened the text message before Chanyeol could claim his phone back. She skimmed through their conversation and grinned, making Chanyeol lose his composure. “El! Give it back!”

She cleared her throat dramatically and read the new message with an over exaggerated sweet tone, ignoring Chanyeol’s pleads. “Good morning, Chanyeol. How are you doing? I hope you had a good rest and that the massage helped to ease your stressed muscles a little bit- a what?! a massage?! he gave you a massage?!?! And he added a winky face!”

“Shut up! Give it back!” His ears turned red as he tried to take a hold of his phone, but Eleanor’s reflexes were too quick. Kyungsoo quirked his eyebrows at the new piece of information. 

Meanwhile, a new notification popped up, the woman already on the way to read it and thus, she continued. “Are you coming soon at the rink? I’ve been training on my own for the past hour but it isn’t the same without my professor.” Chanyeol’s eyes widened.

Fuck. That’s why he was subconsciously in a rush; he had completely forgotten that the two would train again. He finally managed to snatch his phone in a hurry, dialing Junmyeon’s number instantly as he got up and paced in the living room, ignoring Eleanor’s complaints. After a few dials, Junmyeon answered. _“Hello? Chanyeol?”_

“I’m so, so, so, so sorry! Fucking hell- I am so mixed up this morning, I forgot we had to practice because it’s my day off. Sorry! I’m-”

A chuckle was heard through the other end. Knowing that Junmyeon hadn’t taking his forgetfulness seriously eased his mind a little bit. _“It’s fine, Chanyeol. If it’s your day off, you shouldn’t even come here.”_

“I still feel really bad for standing you up like that.”

_“It’s okay. You didn’t miss anything, I would have only been humiliated by how awful I’m doing today on the ice.”_

“I’m sure you aren’t that bad.”

_“Trust me, I am. But I have to admit that I’m quite distracted today-”_

“What’s happening? Chanyeol! If you missed your date with him you should invite him over!”

“Shut up, El! I’m trying to listen! Sorry, Myeon, what were you saying?”

_“I was saying that I’m distracted today, because a certain someone is constantly on my mind.”_

“That was horribly cheesy.”

_“Admit that you blushed at it though.”_

Chanyeol denied it, but the faint taint colouring his cheeks were saying otherwise. He couldn’t have been more grateful that Junmyeon couldn’t see him. He couldn’t deal with a flirty, cheesy Junmyeon.

“He’s blushing again!”

“El! Fuck off! Go away!”

“I won’t!”

“What a fucking child, I swear I should be the one older than you!”

Junmyeon’s melodious laugh echoed in his ear, tugging at his heart strings, _“You seem to have entertaining guests? And I think I heard something about inviting me over? Is the offer still on?”_

“Uh, I… Do- do you want to?”

_“ Without a doubt, I do. ”_

“When?”

_“I don’t give classes today, so is it alright if I shower, get changed and then come there straight after?”_

“Ye- Yes, yes, you can. I’ll text you my address. Ah! No! I’ll come pick you up, it’s the least I can do for standing you up-”

_“ Don’t go out of your way for it, I’ll find your home just fine. Just relax at home, okay? ”_

“Okay… Thank you.”

_“ See you later, then? ”_

“See you. I’ll text you my address now.”

After Chanyeol texted his address to Junmyeon as soon as the call ended and instantly received a wink as a reply, his level of nervousness escalated and reached the top of the roof at the speed of lightning. Eleanor’s teasing and childish comments were futile as Chanyeol’s nerves had the natural capacity to ignore and tone down everything in his surroundings other than his rapid heart rate and his flooding thoughts. How should he act after their kiss the previous evening? Would Junmyeon’s flirting be as obvious as on the phone right then? How would he need to greet him? With a hug? With a kiss? The last option was the most unnerving. Junmyeon had asked him on a date after the dare, but did it mean they were still friends like they used to be even after the intimate moment they had shared or that they were already dating? What were they? The lines were blurry and Chanyeol was confused.

To top it off, it would be the first time Junmyeon would go in his flat. Junmyeon would meet with Kyungsoo but would also see Eleanor for the first time, which was synonym to a huge, complete catastrophe. The whole situation and his unclear relationship with Junmyeon was a lot to get accustomed to at once.

However, Chanyeol’s worries vanished as soon as the four acquaintances gathered and sat at the kitchen table, playing ‘The Mind’ and ‘Ticket to Ride.’ The quartet quickly warmed up to Junmyeon’s addition to the group, resulting in empty bags of chips, animated conversations paired with obnoxious laughter and fun discoveries, especially when they played ‘never have I ever’ with Chanyeol’s freshly made spinach and banana smoothie. Chanyeol took particular pleasure into asking questions he knew would make Eleanor finish the smoothie in record time, rejoicing in her unsatisfied facial expressions as she complied to play with the beverage she absolutely disliked. Chanyeol might or might have not added bananas to the smoothie while knowing that Eleanor hated the yellow fruit with a passion

All his initial nervousness was washed away at how easily Junmyeon was integrated to their small group. Chanyeol should have expected it; Junmyeon was welcoming, easily approachable, kind and interesting. He was quite a social person and meeting a character like Eleanor’s didn’t faze him in the slightest. And to his surprise, Eleanor didn’t make any kind of remark that would embarrass them. She seemed genuinely curious in knowing more about Junmyeon. And throughout the day, not any trace of tension or shift of atmosphere was present between the couple, it was like the kiss hadn’t happened. In between the moment when he hanged up on the phone with Junmyeon and the latter’s arrival in the doorstep, Chanyeol’s imagination had enough time to explore the realms of possibilities in a wide range as he projected various scenarios of what would happen during the day, going from the most absurd to the most simple and realistic ones. But in all of them, the current situation was nowhere near any of his scenarios. 

He wasn’t sure if he had felt how much he had bonded with Junmyeon more than that day. From the moment he step foot into the flat and greeted the three friends to the hours spent by playing games and chatting, to the Chinese meal they were sharing as they welcomed Lu Han back from work, the latter complaining about how much he was longing to go back home and finally have a much needed break with his friends; Chanyeol realised how much he valued Junmyeon as a friend. There wasn’t any tension from the previous night, only joy and bliss as they spent the day in each other’s company, filled with pleasant and warm exchanges. Junmyeon’s authenticity was another trait of him he fully witnessed during the day, one he undoubtedly appreciated and looked up to. Junmyeon’s colours were as bright as ever and Chanyeol bathed in it. He also realised that Junmyeon was more than a crush and a serious love interest; he was a dear friend he cherished and wouldn’t give up in any circumstances. And he was relieved that his closest friends seemed to feel the same way as him.

The highlight of the day was when Junmyeon and him were sitting on his bed, the two of them isolating themselves as the others chatted in the living room by themselves, giving them some space and time to be on their own. Junmyeon had expressed his surprise at how simple his room was; the walls a bland, soft beige colour and the only decoration being strings of light that dimmed the small bedroom warmly, complemented with a couple of polaroids and photos of Chanyeol’s peers and memories hanging on it. Junmyeon had carefully observed the photos, guessing who Chanyeol was in the oldest ice hockey team ones, taking pleasure in finding Lu Han and Kyungsoo as well. He had found a specific photo hilarious, one on which Chanyeol’s drunk self had been captured by Lu Han in a particularly wild show they had attended years back. Truthfully, Chanyeol memories of that show were mere, random flashes of abundant alcoholic shots and a very painful butt, probably because of his ungraceful land after having successfully body surfed over the crowd. Chanyeol didn’t even remember which band he had seen and his only memory of that event was the badly taken shot of him, the flash of the camera having turned his eyes red and depicted ever too clearly his greasy, messy hair peeking at every direction possible as if a gust of wind had passed through each and every strand of hair on his scalp. Chanyeol also had an empty plastic cup of beer in his right hand, the content spilled all over his t-shirt also depicted on the photo, his left hand making the ‘rock n’ roll’ sign while he was body surfing. 

Junmyeon and Chanyeol were now conversing about their high school and college days, both sharing their adventures, the fortunate as much as the unfortunate ones. Chanyeol had laughed rather intensely at Junmyeon’s tale of how he had met his first dorm mate, Junmyeon, whom was a freshman at that time, having swapped by mistake his suitcase with his sister’s, which were the exact same ones. They had forgotten to label their names on it and Junmyeon had to borrow his dorm mate’s spare pyjama on their first night shared in the room together because of it. Junmyeon also confessed having realised he was attracted to men during a college party. Playing spin the bottle and making out with another man made him realise that being intimate with a man was more satisfying, more right to him than with his girlfriend at that time. Many more experiences ensued and it was as clear as water that he was gay.

Chanyeol felt unexplainable comfort envelop him, sitting on his bed while facing Junmyeon, watching him as he spoke about himself and his past, listening to his soothing voice, getting to know even more facets he was discovering, falling more and more for the other man that had managed to snatch his heart away in such a short amount of time. Their knees brushing against the other, the warmth spreading in his whole being; Chanyeol savoured their special intimacy at that moment, wishing that time could stop so he could savour it longer.

“Hey, Chanyeol? Can I show you something?”

Chanyeol quirked an eyebrow, curious. “What is it?”

“Would you like to see me figure skating?”

That took Chanyeol off guard. He straightened his posture, beaming. He had always been curious about watching Junmyeon perform figure skating but never dared ask him, but now the other man was suggesting to show him the sight he had desired to see ever since he had first seen him. He nodded before leaving the comfort of his bed, only to find it back after taking his pc with him while it booted. Junmyeon then opened Youtube, typed a few key words away and clicked on a video. Chanyeol mentally face palmed at how easy it would have been to sate his curiosity while typing Junmyeon’s name on the web. As soon as the video was ready, Junmyeon put it on full screen and placed it on Chanyeol’s thighs. Chanyeol threw him a side glance, “May I?” Junmyeon nodded affirmatively and scooted closer to Chanyeol’s side. 

Chanyeol was a little bit nervous about it, but mostly excited. Once the video started, Chanyeol’s whole attention was focused on the couple entering the ice rink. Junmyeon looked younger and his partner was breathtaking in her dress. It was the first time he was seeing his sister. Junmyeon, no matter how social, was quite private. He wasn’t one to share information about himself and his life easily and it made Chanyeol feel even more special that Junmyeon was opening up to him to the point of revealing such an aspect of his life that held immense value to him.

From the moment the siblings started skating, Chanyeol couldn’t detach his eyes from the screen. The two formed a truly great pair, their chemistry was palpable and their execution was simply astonishing. Chanyeol couldn’t name or identify any of their figures, even if Junmyeon had showed him the basics, he barely knew anything about figure skating, but he was blown away and marveled at how incredible the two of them were. 

“Tae Ran is beautiful, isn’t she?” Chanyeol detached his eyes from the screen for the first time, looking at Junmyeon, whose eyes held a hint of nostalgia. “This was our third competition. It was the first time we won a medal. We won the bronze.”

“I can see why. You two are incredible.”

“This was one of our best performances. After that, everything started going downhill. But it was mostly me ruining it.”

“Not meant for the spotlight, as you said yesterday?” Junmyeon nodded, his eyes meeting Chanyeol’s. “There is more to it, right?”

Junmyeon smiled bitterly, making Chanyeol wonder if he had gone too far, if he would reach too much of a sensitive territory, but he couldn’t even start to apologise that Junmyeon was already set on unveiling the topic. “I don’t handle pressure well, at least not in competitions. I had fun competing at first when we were younger and did it for the sake of trying it and enjoying skating together. But after this competition, we started attracting the attention in the field and participating in more prestigious youth competitions. That’s when competing became a chore and a weight more than anything else, especially when the pressure made me too stressed out, my legs shook the entire length of the performances. I dropped my sister once during a performance because of how badly I was affected by the mere thought of having all the judges’ and the mass of public’s eyes on me. You have to trust your partner, to completely give yourself out to that person, and my sister couldn’t do that with me. I was a bad partner. Tae Ran deserved better than me.” 

Cheers blurted out from the speakers while Chanyeol looked in Junmyeon’s orbs, not glancing at the video that was reaching its end. Junmyeon’s eyes trailed over his face on a time frame long enough that he was still observing him once the cheers ceased. His thumb softly traced the scar above Chanyeol’s left eyebrow, an accident he had told him about that had happened when he was skating in the rink a couple of years ago. “Watching you play with Sehun the other day reminded me of the times I skated with my sister when we started, when we were still careless and innocent. You’re an outstanding player, Chanyeol. I wasn’t made for the spotlight, but you are.” His thumb, tracing his cheekbone, slowly ascended towards his ear, his fingertips gently brushing wild locks behind his ear. Chanyeol leaned into the touch, shaken yet moved by Junmyeon’s confession, and nuzzled his wrist, making tingles travel through his whole body. 

“Should I show you some of my favourite figure skaters?” Junmyeon asked after a minute spent in silence, simply bathing in each other’s presence and soft touches, a question to which Chanyeol smiled and eagerly agreed to.

They spent the rest of the evening watching various videos of figure skaters Junmyeon admired, eventually stumbling upon Che Eun Ji, the renowned figure skater professor in Busan at the stadium. Junmyeon’s eyes held the spark Chanyeol saw each time Junmyeon taught him in the rink, a spark he got lost into, finding a beauty that lay deep within the older man. 

Junmyeon kissed the corner of Chanyeol’s mouth once he left, not forgetting to bid his goodbyes to the other three friends and express his gratitude for having hosted him and having spent such a pleasant day in their company. Eleanor left with him, accompanying him towards the bus stop as she left to reach her own home, but she didn’t do so before holding Chanyeol, giving him a warm and long embrace. Her whispered affecting words lingered in his mind all the while until he crashed on his bed, tears gliding over his cheeks and neck, and fell asleep: “You have always deserved someone who would love you fairly, who would be there for you and respect you for who you are and Junmyeon will give you even more than that. I ship. But I am mostly incredibly happy for you. You couldn’t have found someone better than him for you.”

That night, Chanyeol dreamed of light caramel brown hair and soft, dark chocolate brown eyes.

o

“Here, there’s another one!” 

Chanyeol pointed at the left, Junmyeon trying to follow the direction of his finger, squinting yet not quite catching it. “Are you sure you’re not hallucinating?”

“I swear, there’s a star there!”

“You just want to beat me.”

“No! Look more closely!”

Junmyeon looked at him disbelievingly, making Chanyeol sigh and scoot farther away from him. Junmyeon chuckled and pulled at his arm, “Come on, I was only joking.” 

Stargazing on the stadium’s terrace on the rooftop and competing to see who would spot the most stars in the polluted, dark sky of Busan wasn’t how Chanyeol had imagined the day to end. It wasn’t an easy task, especially since they had picked the worst day to do so, the sky’s air pollution rate being high on the scale. 

Junmyeon narrowed the distance Chanyeol had created, “So, are you enjoying our first date?”

“First date? That’s our first date?”

“Considering the fact that we both won the dare, including that I asked you out on the condition that I would at least make it, and also since the national tournament starts next week and you won’t have much free time during the week and even less during the next ones out of the city, I would say it is.”

“I would have liked to be aware that it was a date beforehand.” 

Junmyeon’s hand found his, Chanyeol rejoicing in the warmth wrapping around his fingers. “I was getting too impatient.”

The dare took place earlier in the day and although Chanyeol was anything but graceful while executing the routine Junmyeon had taught him, he still made it safe and sound and was quite proud of his achievement. He hadn’t split in two, like his fellow teammates had teased him about. Junmyeon had done fairly well too, scoring a few points and maneuvering the puck around the cones, regardless of the failed aims. They all concluded that the two victims of Jongin’s dare succeeded, which lead to Junmyeon and Chanyeol having the unplanned ‘date’ on the rooftop, as Junmyeon called it. The sensation of the wind caressing his face and his clothes made him shiver, winter at bay, but Junmyeon’s body pressed against his was enough to warm him up, the butterflies erupting in his stomach making up for the chilly weather. 

Junmyeon rolled on his side, chest now pressed on Chanyeol’s arm, who still lay on his back. Chanyeol’s chin was enveloped in Junmyeon’s palm, cupping it while directing it towards him, his fingertips stroking his skin tenderly. Chanyeol battled against his closing eyelids, comforted by the warmth and in a daze by the amount of emotions oozing out of Junmyeon. “Chanyeol, I wish to redeem myself with a proper date once the tournament will be over and you’ll be back in Busan. Would you go out with me? Be my boyfriend?”

Chanyeol’s hand found his, gently putting his larger one on top of Junmyeon’s on his jaw. He gazed in his expectant eyes, his breath taken away at the thought of this wonderful, stunning man being his other half. He must have hit the lottery, or the Gods might have hit their heads when they put Junmyeon in the path in his life, blessing him with such a kind, perfect soul. Chanyeol smiled and his cheeks reddened, “Without a doubt, yes. I would love to be your boyfriend.”

Their eyes locked for a while, the couple smiling in complete, utter bliss. Junmyeon then lay on his back again, Chanyeol's head resting on top of his chest as he caged him with one arm circling his shoulders, holding him tightly against his side. His chest was heaving just enough for Chanyeol to sense the beating of his fast paced heartbeat against the back of his head. Junmyeon, who had always been confident and unwavering, was masking his nervousness skillfully, he thought. Junmyeon carded his fingers through his hair, the other hand holding him. Once Chanyeol lifted his head and looked at Junmyeon, he was surprised to see a soft shade of pink tainting his cheeks. “You’re blushing.”

“It’s the cold.” Chanyeol chuckled, knowing that it was a poor excuse, before returning to the safety of Junmyeon’s arms caging him in a warm embrace.


End file.
